The Last Kiss
by Renata Holloway
Summary: Dominic Toretto decides to leave the love of his life behind to protect her from the dangers of living with him, but what happens when he discovers that somebody is using his feelings for Letty against him? DOTTY!
1. 20 porcent Angel, 80 porcent Devil

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Genre: Romance/Action

Summary: Dominic Toretto decides to leave the love of his life behind to protect her from the dangers of living with him, but what happens when he discovers that somebody is using his feelings for Letty against him?

Note: This is my version of the movie Fast and Furious 4. If you're not interested in spoilers don't read!

Special thanks to my friend Doublell for your friendship and patience to translate this story with me!

Please R&R!

_**Soundratck: El beso del fil**__**nal/ Cristina Aguilera**_

**Chapter 1- 20 % Angel, 80% Devil**

"Never _ever _think about leaving me!" Leticia Ortiz whispered into her boyfriend's ear after listening, once again, to his arguments about them separating to keep her safe.

He embraced her against his chest of steel, crushing her in a comforting way against his body as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"If you ever leave me, I swear that I'll look for you and I'll kick your ass when I find you!" She quietly said.

Dominic Toretto laughed and relaxed for the first time that evening and kissed Letty several times before saying. "I have no doubts about that, _Baby_!"

She kissed him again and nibbled on his ear. Dom caressed her dark curls and smirked as he said. "Behave yourself Letty!"

"Let's get out of here, Dom!" Letty seductively said while pressing her body up against his.

Dominic couldn't resist Letty. He never could. Never…since the first time he saw her! She was 20% angel, 80% devil, on the track, in bed and in his heart.

Leticia Ortiz was pure fire and leaving her would be the hardest thing that Dom would ever do in his entire life. He knew that without her he'd never feel complete, again. She would always be the missing piece…the part that propelled him forward.

Holding Letty close to him with her legs still wrapped around his body, he continued kissing her while he walked back to their room. He didn't care about the malicious glares and smiles from the people who were having fun on the beach. He just needed to get to their room and make love to his woman one last time.

People at the beach party watched Dom pass with Letty in his arms, greeting and congratulating them because of the success of the last heist… and the money they had earned. But Dom was feeling empty because he was the only one that realized that he was going to leave his heart behind. Letty was his heart.

Once inside the bedroom they didn't talk much. It would be easier if they didn't talk and Dom wouldn't have time to think about it what he was going to do and change his mind.

He placed her gently on the floor and led her slowly to the bed. Letty unbuttoned Dom's shirt and lightly scratched his chest making him excited.

"Mr. Invincible!" She teased him.

Slowly he slipped her white blouse down her shoulders and then untied the loop of the black bikini top that she had been wearing underneath, and removed it completely. He held her close again, feeling her breasts caress his muscular chest. Dom wanted her desperately at the moment.

He needed her.

"Dom…" He heard her moan his name as he lay down with her on the bed, kissing her thighs and knees before removing her sandals.

Letty remained quiet as she watched Dom finish removing the rest of her clothing. He looked into her dark eyes and sensed at that moment that she suspected that something was wrong.

Dom felt guilty but he tried hard not to show it.

He removed her shorts and panties, sliding the clothing down her legs and to her feet. Dom stood for a few minutes admiring her nakedness, noting every detail of that body he loved.

Dom wants to record his Letty in his memory… the colour of her skin, her lips, her smile, her scent, everything!

Letty broke her silence in the bed and whispered. "Dom? What's wrong, _Baby_?"

He didn't answer… he just undressed and covered her small body with his. Letty relaxed when she felt him next to her. She loved feeling his strong body against hers because he made her feel safe.

"_Baby_? Are you really ok?" She repeated the question caressing his shoulders. "Are you still thinking about what we talked about back on the beach?"

"No." He lied. "I was just thinking about how beautiful you are and how this night is going to be so special for us, _Bella Mia_. (my beautiful)

Dom kissed her to silence her suspicions. Letty wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her legs to accommodate him. Her knees caressed his thighs.

Dom moved his body above Letty's. She moaned with their close contact and raised her hips up urging him to receive her. "I need you Dom…" She whispered. "I need you now!"

"I love you Letty… no matter what…_Amore Mio _(my love)." The guilt was tormenting Dom again.

"Don't say that! Not that way!" She begged him.

"I just don't want you to forget it, _Baby._" He kissed her lips.

"Damn it Dom!" Letty exclaimed. "Shut up and make love to me! I told you that we'll be together forever." Tears were threatening to form in her eyes and Dom felt his heart break.

"Letty… please don't…" He began to take her body, slowly.

Letty received him inside of her body with such pleasure that she grasped him closer to her. Dom moved his hips desperately against hers whispering words of love to her.

In his mind he was wondering if these were just excuses for Letty to forgive him about he was going to do.

Dom felt Letty reach her climax and cry out his name… he never wanted to forget this moment…the sound of her voice crying out for him! Dom had his release in silence, trying to recover his breath. Now it was really all over. Even so, Dom knew that his Letty would be fine when he left because she was Letty after all!

Later, after a shower together and a little dinner, Letty finally fell asleep in their bed holding Dom's hand next to her breast, close to her heart and whispered, "Please don't go!"

Dom kissed her forehead and checked the clock. The time had come. He got up out of the bed and put his clothes back on and placed his personal stuff into his backpack. Outside a soft, sad rain was beginning to fall.

Dom quietly looked at Letty sleeping, barely covered by the white sheet. He sat on a chair and remained watching her for a few moments… trying in his mind to say goodbye to her.

They had dreams and plans for their future together and now they'd never realize them… because of him! It was all Dom's fault.

He finally stood up and placed his backpack on his back. It was time for Dom to leave.

_**To be continued**__…_


	2. The Package

Chapter 2 - The Package

Panama City, Panama

1 year later

"_A car is a like a child_." Old Man Toretto used to tell his son when he was a young boy. He began teaching his son everything he knew about cars when he was just a little boy. Dom had learned these lessons early and soon, like his father, cars became his greatest passion.

Dom couldn't imagine himself doing anything else in his life that didn't involve working with cars _or_ racing cars… but he'd just wished that that hadn't involved breaking the law.

Life hadn't been fair to Dominic Toretto in many ways, including the tragic death of his father. Because of his earlier upbringing, Dom had done everything he had to do to live his life with dignity. He didn't care about the consequences of his actions.

All Dom ever wanted to do was to protect Mia, his baby sister, and give to her a decent life.

At least, Dom hadn't failed in his promise to her. Mia wasn't with him now as she had her own house and a job. She was safe. However, _Letty _was another story!

It had been one year since Dom had left her in The Dominican Republic. In that time he hadn't received any news about her.

Dom had been very careful not to be found by anyone. Only Mia knew where he was hiding and she had strict orders to never reveal this secret to anyone… including Letty.

Dom had never stopped thinking about Letty. Not one single day! His decision to leave her, he'd felt, had been the best decision for both of them…he'd believed that deep down in his heart.

Letty was now free to continue on with her life without the complications of living with a man wanted by the law.

It was another routine morning in Panama City. Dom had been hiding there for almost ten months now. He'd spent some time hiding in a tiny little village in the Dominican Republic before leaving for Panama… so close but yet so far from Letty!

When Dom had arrived in Panama he had found work as a mechanic. He had rented a room and stayed there living a very simple and quiet life.

Occasionally, he would race but nothing big like in LA. He had to remain in hiding from the cops.

Dom didn't know how long he would stay in Panama… he only knew that his instincts would tell him when it was time to leave.

Dom was working underneath a car when one of his boss's children came running into the garage calling for him. "Tio!"(Uncle)

Dom had a good relationship with his boss and his boss's five children. They all loved Dom like an uncle. "_Que pasa, niño?"_ (What's going on, boy?)Dom asked coming out from under the car.

At this moment, Dom realized that the boy was holding a medium sized package close to his chest. "What's this, José?" Dom asked standing up.

"_Esto es para ti, tio!"_(This is for you, Uncle) The boy said in Spanish. "_Tiene tu nombre escrito."_ (It has your name written on it.)

Dom took the package and examined it. "_Gracias, José." _(Thank you, José.) The boy smiled and left Dom alone in the garage.

The boy was right. Dom's name and new address in Panama _were _written on the package. He suddenly became worried. The package had to be from Mia. She was the only person who knew where Dom was hiding. Something must have happened to her!

Dom hurriedly tore open the seal of the package with a knife. Inside the package was a piece of paper and a white teddy bear. Dom held the stuffed toy in his hand. He didn't understand what the package meant and there was no return address.

He read the piece of paper: "Go back to Los Angeles. I would like to discuss issues that might be of interest to you. You won't regret it - if you come back!" The letter was signed, _Braga_.

Dom frowned. This was all very strange. Who the hell was Braga? And how did he know that Dom was there? Could this package be a coded message? But from whom…Letty?

It could be a trap from the cops, too, but Dom had to figure out for himself what this package really meant.

Dom left the garage and went to the nearest public phone that he could find. It was located near a busy street full of people selling fruits and vegetables from tents.

Dom picked up the phone and dialed Mia's number. His sister would definitely be surprised to receive a call from her brother after all of these months!

"Hello?" Mia's soft voice answered the line.

"Mia… it's me!" Dom quietly said.

"Dom? _Oh My God Dom_! Is really you? I've been so worried. I've wanted to call you so many times but you said that I couldn't!" Mia excitedly exclaimed.

"I'm ok, Mia. What about you? How are you?" Dom asked.

"I'm good." She said. "But alone…"

"I know Mia…but you know it's best this way… for everyone! Besides, I don't want to talk about it. I didn't call about that, anyway. I wanted to know about you and…about Letty. Have you seen her?" Dom nervously asked.

"I haven't seen Letty for almost a year now, Dom. She was staying with me after you left and then suddenly one day she said she had to leave. She promised to call me and give me her new address but she never did. So, I thought she was going to meet you somewhere and didn't want me to know…" Mia sadly explained.

"Why would she come to meet me? Did you tell her where I was?" Dom worriedly asked.

"Of course not! Even after she begged me to. It was so hard lying to her, Dom." Mia said.

Dom looked at the teddy bear that he still held in his hands and said to Mia, "I'm coming back to LA."

"No! You can't come back! The cops will catch you Dom!" Mia desperately pleaded with him to change his mind.

"I need to come back Mia and find Letty. I'm worried about her. I'll see you in a few days." He simply said and then hung up the phone.

There was something strange happening in LA. Even if was a trap he'd take the risk to make sure that Letty was ok.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dominican Republic

Letty took in a deep breath and counted the rest of the money that she had in her bag. Three thousand dollars…it wasn't nearly enough! With so little money she wouldn't be able to support herself for much longer in that country. Things were starting to get complicated.

She had decided that it was time to return to The United States and ask for help… even if she was afraid to go back there. The last time that Letty had been in L.A. she had been running from bullets and bad guys.

These same guys had stolen most of the money that Dom had left her. Letty sighed and set the money down on the coffee table in the small room where she had been living for the past few months.

She picked up her cell phone, a very old model…the only one that she could afford, and made a call. A female voice answered and Letty, speaking in Spanish, said, "_Hola, soy yo. __Tienes mi dinero? Como no tienes, mujer? Yo necesito este dinero. __Quiero volver al Estados Unidos."_

(Hello, it's me. Do you have my money? How come you don't have my money, woman? I need this money! I want to get back to The USA.)

Letty paused to listen to what the woman on the other end of the phone was saying to her and then she replied in a very nervous and loud voice. "_Pero como tu quieres que yo regrese a mi país con este dinero de mierda? Yo no puedo, Soledad. Yo he trabajado duro para ti y ahora necesito el dinero. La niña necesita muchas cosas. Tu lo sabes! Oh, no, no te perdono!Por favor, ayudame…está bien, voy esperar que llames. __Pero no tardes. Yo necesito regresar al Estados Unidos."_

(But how do you expect me to get back to my country with this shit money? I can't Soledad. I worked hard for you and now I need the money. The baby needs many things. You know this! Oh, no, no I don't forgive you! Please, help me…ok, I'm going wait for your call but don't take too long. I need to get back to The States.)

Letty hung up the phone and felt tears form in her dark eyes. However, a loud and desperate cry shook Letty out of her despair and she quickly wiped her tears away and resolved herself to take care of what needed her attention most at that moment.

Letty quickly jumped up off of the bed where she had been sitting and went to check in the bassinette that was sitting in the corner of the room near the window. In it a baby covered by a soft yellow blanket was crying.

Letty smiled and picked up her little bundle. She gently rocked the child in her arms and whispered, "Don't cry, _My Baby_. Mama's here, _Sweet Caterina_…"

_**To be continued…**_


	3. Race or Die

Chapter 3 - Race or Die

Dominican Republic

1 year before

"Dom?" Were the first words that Letty spoke when she woke up the next morning and couldn't find Dominic in the bed with her.

Rubbing her eyes, she sat in up in bed, suddenly feeling worried.

"Dom!" She called for him again looking towards the bathroom door, wondering if he was in the shower but she couldn't hear the sound of running water.

Letty left the bed and walked towards to the bathroom still calling for Dom, but the bathroom was empty. She went back into the bedroom and pulled on her jeans, and flip-flops. Then she tied her long, dark hair back into a ponytail and left the room for a walk towards the empty beach outside. The morning was cloudy but the sun would be up soon.

Letty walked along the white sand, hoping to find Dom. She thought that maybe he was walking along the beach trying to put his thoughts in order but he wasn't there.

The concern inside her grew even more and she returned to their bedroom…praying that he would be there waiting for her.

"No you bastard! You didn't do this to me!" Letty said to herself as she looked in the closet. She was stunned to discover that all of Dom's clothing and personal items were gone.

"Cabrón!" (Bastard!) She yelled in Spanish. Letty, then noticed a large bundle of money sitting on top of the coffee table. There were at least three packets of stacked dollar bills that he had left for her… a lot of money but Letty didn't care about the money…she only wanted her man by her side!

It was never because of money that Letty broke the law… it was because of him! It was something that they did together and she was hoping that one day he would stop and they'd live a real life together. Finally! But that would never happen now because Dom had left her!

"Why Dom?" She screamed in a moment of fury…and despair. She angrily threw the money across the room, kicking the packs under the bed. Her whole body was shaking.

Dom had talked about the possibility of leaving her, but Letty wasn't expecting that he would actually do it…especially in the middle of the night when she was sleeping! Coward!

Now Letty had no idea where he was going and she knew that if she called him on his cell that he wouldn't answer her. Dom had made his decision and nothing would make him change his mind! Letty was smart enough to realize that.

"Oh _Papi_!" She lay down on the bed and cried.

Letty had never been the queen of drama for tears… but Dom leaving her had been a strong blow to her. She couldn't imagine her life without him. They'd been together since she was sixteen years old. They had had many fights and break ups over the years but they always got back together… because they belonged together! That was what Letty believed…no knew….deep down in her soul.

Still crying, Letty buried her head deep into the pillow trying to alleviate the unbearable pain that she felt in her heart. That was when she felt something cold and hard under the pillow.

Letty picked up the object and realized that it was the heavy silver necklace and cross that Dom always wore. He'd left it for her… so that she'd never forget him.

She held the necklace tightly between her fingers and started to cry again. She didn't want to leave her room that day…the last place that she felt close to Dom….not alone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Los Angeles, United States

6 weeks later

"FBI." Letty quietly read the very large silver letters set onto the side of the cold looking brick building that housed The Headquarters of the FBI in Los Angeles.

The last six weeks that Letty had remained in The Dominican Republic without Dom had been incredibly hard for her. She couldn't forgive him and was still in denial that he had actually left her. She understood his reasoning but she didn't agree. She understood that he was afraid for her safety. He loved her and didn't want anything bad to happen to her.

For Letty that only left one solution.

The only way for them to ever be together again would be if Dom was pardoned by the law.

Dom needed to be a free man…not wanted by the cops. Then Dom and Letty could be left alone and live their lives together. There was only one person whom she thought could help her. The same person that was in part responsible for Dom being a fugitive now.

"Good morning." She sweetly said to the officer sitting at the reception desk inside the building.

"Morning." The officer politely answered. He subconsciously smoothed his silk tie and smiled up at Letty. He was interrogating her body with his eyes….from the top of her head to the bottom of her toes!

Letty smiled back at him. That morning she was dressed differently… for her. She was trying to portray herself as the respectable lady. She was wearing a yellow dress with delicate white sandals.

"How can I help you, Miss?" The officer gently asked.

Letty seductively put her fingers through her loose hair and said. "I'm looking for an old friend of mine. His name is Brian O'Connor."

The man nodded when he heard the name she'd just spoken. "Well, he's not here right now. He's out of the office on business." He replied.

"Oh dear…that's too bad…" Letty said in a sad voice trying to gain some trust and empathy from the officer. "I haven't seen him in five years now and I came all the way to LA just to talk to him. It's urgent! Are you sure that you can't help me _Officer_…" She read the name on his badge. "…Melbourne?"

The officer smiled again, thinking to himself that maybe Letty was interested in him. Realizing her victory, Letty manipulated him a little more. "Can I call you Allan?"

"Sure." He said. "Well… maybe I _can _help you, _Miss_…?"

"Ortiz. Letícia Ortiz." She said. "But my friends call me _Letty_."

"Letty! Well maybe I can help you if you tell me what you want to talk to O'Connor about. He's not exactly the model cop, you know?" Melbourne stated.

"_Really_?" Letty said impatiently. She just wanted the silly man to take her to talk to Brian.

"Yeah. I heard that he let a dangerous criminal escape five years ago and because of that he was dismissed from the police force. I have no idea how he got his badge back but…"

Letty quickly interrupted him before he could start talking again and continue to waste her time. "Well Allan, what I have to talk to Brian about has nothing to do with the police… actually it's personal."

"Really?" He asked disappointed thinking that Letty could be Brian's ex-girlfriend.

"Yes, Brian and I...we need to talk, so…" She moved closer to him and seductively said "Maybe if you help me talk to Brian sooner, then I'll be finished sooner… then maybe we can go out for a cup of coffee Allan!"

Melbourne was hopeful again. Looking around, he left his position at the reception desk and said to Letty. "Come with me, Miss."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Damn it!" Brian yelled when he arrived at the office full of agents…most of them pacing impatiently waiting for him.

He was upset about the case he'd been working on. The case involved an influential drug dealer named Arturo Braga. The FBI had been trying to capture him for over a year now and hadn't made any significant progress.

The last information that Brian had received on this ruthless drug lord was that he used race car drivers to transport his product quickly and quietly over the border from Mexico.

Brian's plan had been to infiltrate Braga's organization as a driver. Brian's superior had said that there was no way in hell that he would ever allow Brian to do this…someone else maybe…but never Brian.

Brian's boss didn't like him. That was obvious. He'd shared his opinion of Brian and why he felt Brian deserved to be kicked off the force and not allowed to return.

He told Brian that he had failed when he had infiltrated Toretto's gang all those years ago. He had allowed himself to get too close to his suspects Dom, his sister Mia and the other drivers.

In the end, Brian had lost his prime suspect, his reputation and his job from the police force.

However, Brian had been given another chance…a police mission that he had successfully solved and he had worked hard ever since earning his way into joining the FBI.

Brian wanted his boss to change his mind. If he wouldn't let Brian infiltrate Braga's organization then _somebody else_ had to. He just needed to find a driver good enough to infiltrate the organization.

Brian thought that his plan was perfect. Braga was always recruiting drivers… so it couldn't be that difficult getting someone in there? Could it?!

He was so distracted thinking about these details that he didn't realize Letty's presence until she actually spoke to him.

"You kiss your mama with that mouth O'Connor?" Letty asked grinning. Brian heard the familiar voice coming from the corner of the room and turned to see Letty sitting in a chair with her arms folded across her chest.

Five years had come and gone and he could see the maturity in her face now, especially since she was dressed so beautifully. However, her "I don't give a damn look" that he remembered was still on her face.

"Letty?" He said, surprised to see her. "What are you doing here? It's been a long time!" He quickly walked over to her and gave her a big bear hug and they briefly embraced.

"I need your help." She quietly said as she sat down again. "It's Dom." He pulled up a chair and sat down in front her listening to what she had to say.

"Dom left. I don't know where. He just disappeared one night. He was afraid that something might happen to me if we stayed together." Letty quietly began.

"Ok. Back up." Brian said. "First, tell me where you and Dom have been hiding all of this time?"

"After you let him get away, Dom met me in Mexico. I was with Leon. We stayed there for a long time quietly living our lives. But I knew Dom wasn't comfortable with our situation. He was becoming distressed…always on guard. Then, we went to The Dominican and he left me there all by myself. I know he wants to protect me but I can't live without him Brian. This isn't right!"

Brian understood. He understood Letty completely, because he felt exactly the same way about Mia. Mia was on Dom's side and Dom was on the wrong side of the law. Brian's predicament with his colleague's on the police force was volatile after he let Dominic escape. He had to give Mia up.

"Do you have any idea where Dom could be?" Brian asked.

"No man." She solemnly said. "Do you think that if I had a clue where Dom was that I'd be here talking with you!"

"What about Mia? She's his sister she _must _be in contact with him?" He offered.

"I'm going to see her soon but I know she won't tell me where Dom is, Brian. Like you said they're brother and sister. They're very close…and _loyal_ to each other." Letty explained.

"How long has it been since he left?" Brian asked.

"Six weeks. We were in The Dominican Republic. One day he just left. I contacted Vince and Leon to help me find him but we failed. When Dom doesn't want to be found…he won't be. Letty said.

"What do you want me to do Letty?" Brian asked. "I'd like to help you… but I work for The FBI…I'm under their jurisdiction… I have my hands tied. They want Dom…"

"They want Dom because of you, God Damn it! You brought the cops to our doorstep!" She got up out of the chair and gave him that angry glance that he remembered so well from five years ago.

Brian knew that Letty loved Dom and that she would likely do anything for him. And he knew, also, that Letty was an excellent racer. She was part of Dom's team stealing trucks.

Letty was a strong and courageous woman that wasn't afraid of any obstacle that got in her way. Suddenly, the arrival of Letty at The FBI seemed like such perfect timing!

"Dom needs to come home but he can't come home with the cops trying to catch his ass. He must be forgiven. He needs to deal with this mess with the law! Don't you understand O'Conner? You get dirty..then you clean up, got it?" She pointed her finger at Brian and then slumped back down into the chair. Her dark eyes were sad, begging him to help her.

Brian was thinking about what Letty was offering him. Things became clearer in his mind. If Letty cooperated with him in bringing down Braga's Cartel, then maybe he could do something for her…for Dom… to bring him home. A deal. He would make a proposal to The FBI brass and ask for a deal for Dom in exchange for Letty's help.

Then his two biggest problems would be solved. Braga would be arrested and put out of commission….and Dom could return to LA without worrying about the cops getting him.

During the time that Brian had spent with Dominic in the past, he'd learned to admire and respect him. Since then, Brian had had to live with the guilt of being the one to cause Dom to run from the police.

Mia never forgave him. Would she forgive him if he brought Dom back to her after five years?

"I think that maybe there is something that we can do Letty." Brian said.

"What do you have in mind Brian?" Letty asked intrigued.

"Would you do anything for Dom?" Brian asked.

"Of course I would! I'll do anything. That's the reason I'm here, man!" Letty said.

"Ok. I'll tell you my plan." Brian began.

_**To be Continued ...**_


	4. Vaya con Dios

**Chapter 4 - Vaya con Dios**

Letty ran her fingers along the hard, cool surface of the car, enjoying the texture that mentally brought back images of Dom. It was as if Letty touching the car, made her feel somehow closer to Dominic again.

She could imagine feeling the contractions of Dom's smooth muscles under her fingertips. Letty could almost feel the beat of his heart when she opened the hood of the car and listened to the powerful sound of the engine.

The car originally belonged to Dominic's father and was almost totally destroyed after the crash five years ago when Dom was running from the police… from Brian O'Connor. Although the car was a real mess Letty was confidant that she could repair it.

"Who's there?" Letty jumped as she heard a soft voice followed by the sound of high heeled shoes entering the garage.

"Letty!" Mia shouted, surprised to see her friend after such a long time.

"What's up girl?" Letty said as they hugged each other tightly.

"When did you get back?" Mia asked excitedly.

"Today." She answered. "I arrived very early this morning."

"It's good to see you." Mia said. "How long has it been? Five years? You look gorgeous Letty!"

Letty laughed and said. "_Stop_! No need to try flattering me!"

Mia smiled and said. "You must be tired."

"Actually, I'm starving!" Letty confessed. "I'd really love some of your home made spicy fried chicken! You make it the best."

"I'll make it for you." Mia said smiling at her. She looked around for Letty's luggage and seemed confused when she couldn't find anything and asked. "Where are your things?"

"I put them in Dom's old bedroom. I hope that was ok?" Letty said.

"Sure." Mia felt uncomfortable because she could see in Letty's eyes how much she was hurting because Dom had left her.

Yes, Mia knew that he'd left her about six weeks earlier and she, also, knew where he was hiding. However Dom was emphatic and he ordered...no begged his sister not tell anyone where he was.

"I'll stay here and work on the car while you make our lunch." Letty quietly said.

"Ok. I promise I won't be long." Mia stated. As Mia was leaving the garage Letty called to her and said. "Mia…"

Mia stopped and nervously looked over at Letty.

"Is he alright?" Letty asked. She _had t_o ask that question…and Mia realized it, too. Letty needed to know.

"Yes" Mia sadly said and turned and left the garage.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few days later, Letty was still anxiously waiting for Brian's call. She was really looking forward to hearing from him after their conversation at The FBI Headquarters.

Brian's plan was for her to become a double agent in Braga's organization. Letty knew she was an exceptional driver and was very optimistic about the success of this plan but she, also, realized that it was very dangerous.

However, Leticia wasn't afraid, especially when taking this risk meant that she was actually doing something concrete to bring Dom back home. She was doing this for him. To bring him back to her. To bring him back to all of them.

To make the wait less agonizing, and to conceal from Mia her anxiety at having to wait for the plan to be finalized, Letty spent her days fixing Dom's old car. She needed to keep busy.

Every day she fixed something different. The engine was still making a strange noise but it was improving every day with Letty's adjustments. In a few more days she'd take the car to the track and give it test run. Her biggest project would be to change the car's system over to an electronic fuel injection. If she had time she'd get this done…for Dom.

Letty finished her tinkering under the car's hood and decided that that was enough for the day. It was strange how she'd been feeling so tired these days. Maybe it was because of the anxiety of waiting for Brian's plan to come together?

She stood beside the car and looked at Dom's necklace shimmering from the car's mirror where she'd hung it when she'd started working on the car.

"_Dom you bastard_! I miss you so much." She sighed talking to herself.

Suddenly, the sound of her cell phone brought Letty back to reality and she quickly picked it up and looked at the display. She smiled. It was Brian, finally!

"Hey Letty!" He said on the other end of the line.

"Hey!" She said.

"We're on for tonight. You ready?" Brian asked.

"Always." Letty confidently replied.

"Meet me in my apartment in two hours. I need to talk to you first." Brian stated.

"Ok." Letty said and hung up the phone before Mia walked into the garage.

"Hey! Are you hungry?" She sweetly asked. "I was thinking of ordering a pizza for dinner tonight and then maybe we could watch a movie."

"Don't worry about me tonight, Mia. I have to go out." Letty simply said.

"Where are you going?" Mia asked.

"I have something to do." Was all Letty said and then she smiled at Mia and left the garage.

Exact two hours later she was in Brian's apartment. Her hands were really perspiring. It was the first time she was feeling nervous about doing something like this. Maybe it was because this was the first time she was planning on doing something so dangerous without Dom. Of course, this was, also, the first time she would be working as a spy for the police.

Brian showed her a small microphone and placed it under her black leather jacket. "Do I really need this?" She protested.

"Sorry, but this is the only way to know for sure where you are at all times. Our only way of protecting you" Brian said.

"Okay man. Besides pretending to be a bitch crazy about money… what else should I do?" Letty nervously asked.

Brian smiled. "Ok, that's the spirit! Now listen to me carefully. We recently arrested a guy named Lover Boy."

Letty frowned and said. "This stupid name supposed to mean something to me?"

"This guy is the one that chooses the drivers for Braga. We made him put your name on his short list… to race tonight." Brian explained.

"Ok. So all I have to do is win this race to get into Braga's organization?" Letty grinned.

"Exactly.! Then you'll give us all the information you can gather to get this bastard! Lets go!" Brian said.

Letty followed him out of the apartment and they took the elevator to the ground floor. Downstairs in the garage was a very cool and very hot 1970 fully restoredPlymouth.

Letty's eyes were gleaming. "_This_ is your car?" Brian smiled at her and cockily said. "I chose it myself and I made a few modifications for you…"

"_Son of a Bitch_!" Letty exclaimed. "This is better than my old civic. How did you get this O'Connor?"

"Being a cop has its advantages!" Brian smirked. "We got this car almost destroyed. The owner was loaded and practically totaled it. The guy was fine but he lost his car to the cops and when I saw this sweet little thing in the impound yard…well I thought it looked like a car that you might appreciate."

"Ok, I love this car!" She said smiling like a child with the new toy.

Brian handed her the keys and seriously said. "Letty….please be careful."

"No worries. I'm a grown up girl Brian, and I'm going to kick these guys' asses!" She grinned back at him.

"Here's the address!" Brian said as he handed Letty a piece of paper. She handed it right back to him without reading it and said. "Come on, man! What kind of a racer I would be if I didn't know where all of the important races were?"

She got into the car and started the engine. Brian stood and watched her quickly drive away, squealing the tires as she burned up the street.

In his mind, Brian prayed that Dom would forgive him for involving Letty in that dangerous mission.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Letty was feeling at home behind the wheel until she arrived at the place where the race would begin.

She realized that now she was a spy…amongst enemies…she felt like a little lamb in the wolves den. She didn't feel as safe as she used to with Dom at her side.

In one way, it felt like old times because of the crowds of people on the track, laughing, dancing and talking. So many songs were playing at the same time that it was hard to focus on any of them.

The men were dressed in their fancy gear, oozing money and power. They were surrounded by hot metal and hot scantily clad women. They were all crazy for the race and the prospect of blood on the track.

Letty got out of her car and deliberately placed one of her legs high on the hood of her car in a seductive way, pretending she was adjusting her black boots. She wanted to be noticed. It was part of her plan.

Soon she realized male eyes were watching her and she smiled seductively trying to tease them while she tied her hair back in a ponytail.

"Hey baby." A tall, skinny man said as he approached her with a confidant smirk on his face. The man was dressed brighter than Lisa Minelli and he had a dumb look on his face. He wore a ridiculous looking cowboy hat that didn't work with his outfit or his personality.

"What's up?" Letty asked.

The man crossed his arms over his chest in a weak attempt to show off the muscles that he didn't have. He stood there for a moment and then said. "I'm Dwight and you?"

"Letty." She replied looking around, trying to pinpoint someone who could tell her something about the race.

"You look _so hot_, baby." He drawled as he stared at her ass.

Letty felt her stomach feel sick as she watched him undress her with his eyes. He was so disgustingly obvious.

"I'm sorry but I can't say the same for you, man." She smirked back at him.

He laughed. He had an annoying little laugh that sounded like the snort from a dirty pig.

"Mmm… so you're a tough girl, huh? That's not a problem for me, baby doll! Papa Dwight loves angry women." He cooed.

Now Letty was the one laughing. "Okay Papa Dwight, so you think you can handle me? Great! But I came here interested in racing… not romance! Sorry. Can you tell me who I can talk to about this race?"

"You can talk to me, sexy woman." He said. "What do you want to know? Who the best racer is tonight? It's me baby bunny!" He grinned and licked his lips at her.

"You don't understand me, man. I'm asking about the race because I'm going to drive tonight!" Letty firmly stated.

"What?" Dwight asked not able to conceal his shock. "An _angel _like you is going to compete for a place on Braga's team?" He gave another of his nervous, annoying laughs.

"You got a problem with that?" Letty dangerously asked.

"I hope not." A female voice said from behind him. "After all… a woman can race just as good as any man… sometimes even better!"

Dwight turned around and smiled at the woman. Letty looked at her. She was beautiful, tall, slim and had long dark hair. She was definitely Latin, her accent sounded Brazilian.

"Hello Gisele." Dwight said. "This race is taking too long to start. Did Braga cancel the race tonight because he decided that I'm the best driver for the job?"

The woman smiled and said. "I heard that when a man is overly confidant, this means that he is hiding his lack of performance in bed."

Letty laughed out loud and Dwight felt humiliated. Before the two women could say any more insulting things about him he tipped the rim of his ridiculous hat and walked away.

Alone with Letty, Gisele asked. "So you want to drive for Braga?"

"Yeah. That's kind of why I'm here." Letty impatiently informed her.

"Who sent you?" Gisele asked.

"Lover boy." Letty replied.

"He _never _disappoints Braga. Follow me!" Gisele said.

Letty followed Gisele into a two story, brick building. The woman took her to a room where nine men were waiting. Letty suspected that they all seemed like potential drivers. She sat in a chair a little away from the men as Gisele left the room.

One of the drivers, a young man with a beautiful face and long dark hair whispered to Letty. "I don't understand why all the mystery?"

"What do you mean?" Letty asked.

"I'm talking about Braga." The young man said. "Nobody has ever seen him… and nobody has any idea who he is."

"Really?" Letty urged the man to talk.

"Yeah! The man has his _people_ find the drivers for him but he never shows himself to them…or so I hear. But I don't care about this shit, you know? The man pays!" He looked over at Letty with interest and offered his hand out to her: I'm Diogo by the way."

"Letty" She said shaking hands with him.

"Well Letty, hopefully Braga isn't Dracula and demands our blood when the job is done!"

She laughed, pretending to be relaxed on the outside, but inside her stomach was nervously contracting. She'd been feeling sick the last few days. She deduced it to stress. She thought that things were becoming increasingly too much for her to handle.

At that moment, Gisele came back into the room followed by two men. One of them was tall and black, with a face that reminded her of a bad guy from a bad movie. His face was full of scars.

The other man was Latin, was short and wore a tacky shirt with gawdy designs and dragons on it, tight jeans and crocodile boots. He had a malicious grin on his greasy little face.

"You all know why you're here, don't you, cabróns?" (bastards). The shorter man asked before he realized Letty's presence. "Oh perdon cabróns y señorita!"( Sorry lady!)

Everyone began talking at the same time but the man raised his hand up in a gesture to silence them.

"I'm Ramon Campos and I'm here to recruit the best drivers for Braga. But like I said earlier…only the _best_ drivers will be chosen. Tonight I'll choose two drivers." He announced.

The irritating Cowboy that Letty had spoken to earlier entered the room and asked Campos a million and one questions trying to get an answer as to why the race was delayed so long. Campos shut him down and the cowboy sighed and slumped back down in his chair.

Gisele gave all of the drivers a GPS.

"Listen to the GPS. Go where it tells you to go. That's it!" Campos said. "The race will consist of eight grueling kilometers The first two drivers to finish will work for Braga."

"The streets will be closed for eight kilometers?" A driver asked.

"The streets won't be closed." Gisele explained. "You have to be careful of the civilians and get to where you are told to go… faster than anyone else!"

"Who wants to quit?" The tall man with the scarred face asked. His smile was ice cold.

"What are we waiting for?" Letty asked holding the GPS in her hand.

The drivers gathered at the track and waited for departure. In the end, only six drivers would race that night. Three quit. Amongst the remaining drivers were Dwight and Diogo Muñoz, the young man Letty had talked to earlier.

She was getting in her Plymouth when she heard Gisele voice right behind her saying. "I admire a woman who enjoys a challenging race. I wish you good luck."

Letty raised her eyebrow and said. "Thanks!"

"Vaya con Dios."(Go with God) Gisele said.

Inside the car, Letty turned on the GPS and waited for the instructions to appear on the screen.

The race finally began. It was crazy and intense. All of the drivers wanted a place in Braga's organization. Letty was no different than any other driver. The other drivers didn't treat her any differently either.

She needed to infiltrate the organization, get the information she needed for Brian, and clear Dom's name. Then everything could be like it was before. Dom and Letty could be together again and live their life together.

Of course there would still be racing action like they used to do _but_ no more illegal activities! They had money now to invest in a legal business. Maybe another garage or something like that? So much for her to think about… but now wasn't the time.

The GPS guided the racers through some busier streets of Los Angeles, and the competition was heavy. Dwight tried to take Letty out early in the race several times but she outmaneuvered him and continued to keep her distance from him.

"Stay way from me you asshole!" She yelled as he hit her car again with his.

"F*ck you bitch!" Dwight shouted.

Letty accelerated her Plymouth and darted out ahead of him, passing other drivers. Dwight tried to get her, again, but Diogo purposefully rammed his car.

"Let the lady go, you bastard!" Diogo shouted.

"_Son of a Bitch_!" Dwight yelled but he couldn't catch Diogo who accelerated in front of him.

Meanwhile, Letty was leading the race. There was less than a kilometer to arrival. Diogo was right behind her in his powerful red Chevy.

"Now!" Letty said to herself and activated the nitrous oxide system of the car. The engine fired in a way that she had never experienced before… even with her vast racing history. "Brian….what the hell did you put in this car?"

Letty held onto the steering wheel with all of the strength that she had left in her. It didn't take long and she had crossed the finish line… victorious. She had never deviated from the streets and had followed the GPS's instructions unlike some of the others drivers.

"_You have reached the fina__l destination. Congratulations."_ A female voice in the GPS screen announced.

The second driver to arrive was Diogo. One of the other drivers had been killed during the race and another had been seriously hurt. This reaffirmed in Letty's mind the kind of people that she was dealing with.

Dwight was the last to arrive. He wasn't hurt but he was furious to be left behind and shook his finger at Letty and screamed. "You _bitch_! No woman will beat me in a race…ever! So let's go again and I'll show you who's the boss! Then I'll spank your sweet little ass!"

"Better watch your own ass, cowboy!" She screamed back at him and said. "Do you know what they do with guys like you in prison? If you ever come near me again - I'll make you find out first hand. Don't mess with me man!"

Campos, Gisele and the tall man approached them.

"You had your chance Dwight. You blew it. Try again next time!" Campos said smiling.

Dwight walked away furious. Diogo approached the group, too.

"Excellent!" Campos said. "You two now work for Braga! Be ready. You'll receive a call from the GPS when you're needed."

Campos left with the tall man with the scarred face. Then Gisele motioned for Letty and Diego with her finger to listen to her. "The GPS works like a beeper. When you're needed the beeper will page you and tell you what to do. I'll see you soon."

She quickly left in her own car.

After Gisele had left, Diogo smiled at Letty and said. "I think we need to celebrate our victory. Do you want to have a drink with me Letty?"

"Yeah, a drink would be nice but…" Letty began.

"But…" Diogo persisted.

"Just remember, cause I agree to have a drink with you doesn't mean that I'm going to end up in your bed!"

Diogo laughed and said. "Point taken."

"You still interested in that drink then?" She asked doubtful.

"Yeah. Sure." He said leading her in the direction of a nearby bar.

_**To be continued…**_


	5. The Frontier

I wanna say thank you very much to the all reviews and private messages. Means a lot to me!!!

Chapter 5 - The Frontier

The sound of loud music and the smell of cigarette smoke inside the bar caused great discomfort to Letty. She couldn't remember feeling like this in a bar before. It was common for her to go to bars or dance clubs after races with Dom. Maybe she was uncomfortable because this time Dom wasn't there with her?

Letty was a very independent woman. She was used to taking care of her herself anytime and anyplace but Letty couldn't stop herself from feeling empty in a place like that because Dom wasn't by her side. She still had a hard time believing that he'd left her.

Diogo Muñoz was a nice guy and Letty was really enjoying talking with him… but she definitely wasn't interested! Everything she wanted at that moment was to go back home. She already had what she was there for….a way to infiltrate Braga's organization. But she couldn't just leave the party or her new friend might suspect something.

They had to push through people to get to the bar and order their drink. "What do you want to drink, _Chica_?" Diogo asked.

"I'd like a corona please." Letty answered smiling. She was trying hard to hide the nausea she was feeling because of the cigarette smoke from a man smoking a cigar next to her.

"Two coronas." Diogo asked the bartender. He took the two bottles of beer from the bartender and handed one to Letty saying. "To Braga! And to all of the money that we're going to make working for him!"

Letty toasted with him before she sipped her own beer. But soon she realized that the beer was a very bad idea. Letty immediately felt her stomach churn and she grabbed on to the edge of the bar go try to contain her composure and avoid vomiting.

"Are you, ok?" Diogo asked noticing her discomfort.

Letty took in a deep breath and said. "I'm ok man… I'm sorry….but I really need to go now!" She placed the beer on the counter.

"Do you really have to go?" He asked disappointed. "Why? We just got here!"

"Sorry… but I have to meet someone." Letty quickly made up her excuse to get out of there.

"Boyfriend… or husband?" Diogo asked.

"I'm still thinking about it." She smirked trying to look normal again. Apparently it worked because Diogo smiled back at her.

"All right. Good talking with you Letty. I think we'll see each again soon, right?" Diogo looked hopeful.

"Yeah, man! When duty calls!" Letty said smiling back at him and walked away.

She rushed trying to get the hell out of there. The nausea was agonizing and she quickly pushed past people who were dancing and kissing on the dance floor. She needed to get to the ladies room.

When she arrived in the ladies room, Letty almost didn't have time to remove the microphone that Brian had placed in her jacket. She didn't want him hearing her vomit. Then she entered one of the stalls and proceeded to vomit all of the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

A short, young woman, with red dyed hair, wearing a shiny orange dress and white cowboy boots came into the ladies room and noticed Letty vomiting. "Hey girl! You ok?" She curiously asked.

Letty nodded but when she tried to get up her legs failed her. The girl helped her to get up and walked her to the sink. Letty washed her mouth out and splashed water on her face. She remained quiet for a while praying that the bad sensation of nausea was over.

The young woman got a paper towel and dampened it under the faucet and gave it to Letty and said. "Here. Put this on your forehead. It will help."

"Thanks." Letty said feeling a little better.

"My name is Suki." The young woman offered.

"Letty." She replied.

"I saw you race. You were amazing. You rock girl!" Suki excitedly said. Letty smiled weakly at her.

"I'm a racer too, but I wouldn't dare risk racing for Braga's team." Suki said.

"Why?" Letty asked. She was very interested about what this woman had to say about Braga.

"Because I heard weird things happen to his drivers." Suki replied.

"What?" Letty asked.

"A few guys that worked for him have disappeared. People say that Braga finished them off. They're never seen again. Do you know what I mean?" Suki asked.

"Really?" Letty asked tossing the paper towel in the trash. She was feeling better now.

"Look… I don't want to butt into your business girl, but I think you should be careful." Sukie warned her.

"Thanks for the warning, Suki. And thanks for your help, too." Letty smiled.

"No problem." Suki said.

Letty started to leave the ladies room thinking about what Suki had told her. She thought that this information could prove useful to Brian. The nausea and having to go to the ladies room had surprisingly been useful in the end.

But before Letty left Suki asked: "Are you sure you feeling ok?"

Letty frowned. "Yeah…why do you ask?"

"Well, because you still seem so pale…" Suki said.

"I'm feeling better. Really. I think it was the beer." Letty tried to reassure her.

"It could be." Suki said. "But I had a friend who used to come to watch the races every night. Bars were like her second home. Then she started to become pale like you are now and she couldn't handle the smell of beer and smoke. She was always vomiting, too."

"Did she figure out what the problem was? Maybe she was worried about something." Letty asked.

"Oh yes. She found out! That's for sure! And it wasn't nerves or being worried about something." Suki answered. "It was baby stuff, you know? She was pregnant and that was the reason she was sick all the time." Suki finished.

After leaving the bar and getting in to her car, Letty was still thinking about what Suki had told her. Before hearing Suki's shocking statement, pregnancy hadn't even been a consideration as to what had been going on with her. Letty was in shock at the possibility.

"No! This is impossible!" She said to herself.

It had been six weeks since Dom had left her. The last time they made love was the night before he left. She had always been careful to avoid a pregnancy. The life they'd been living for the last five years would make it nearly impossible to take care of a baby. Letty thought that she could never jeopardize a baby by racing through the streets at 100 miles an hour.

However, even with safety precautions taken, accidents could still happen. Why was this happening to her now? Just when Dom had left her and she was involved in Brian's investigation to set Dom free?

"Holy shit!" She screamed angry and nervous. "Oh! _No way_ can I be a mother. What am I going to do?"

Her cell phone rang inside of her jacket and Letty took in a deep breath, trying to calm down. It had to be Brian wanting to know why she had taken off the microphone. Her fingers were trembling as she removed the phone from her pocket and looked at Brian's name on the display.

Letty couldn't give up now. She was so close to finding out important information about Braga's cartel… and clear Dominic's name. "Hey!" She said when she heard Brian's desperate voice on the other end of the line.

"Damn it Letty! What the hell's going on? I was worried about you! Why'd you take off the microphone?" He shouted at her.

"I'm ok, man! I took off the mike because the race was over. I thought that if I kept walking around with that damn thing on in Braga's territory that I'd be caught and then we probably wouldn't be having this conversation right now." Letty tried to explain and reassure him.

"All right." He said. "Cool that you're ok Letty and I'm glad you're on Braga's team. You did good. You don't have to worry about the risks… we'll be covering you the entire time."

"Brian… I got important information for you that I found out after I took off the microphone." Letty stated.  
.

"I'm listening." Brian said.

"A girl inside the ladies room told me to be careful around Braga. She said that the drivers that work for him usually disappear after their first mission. They aren't seen again." Letty explained.

"Makes sense." Brian said. "Two FBI agents that got onto his team were found dead."

"What?" Letty was shocked with that revelation. "When were you thinking of telling me this Brian?"

"I'm sorry for not telling you this before, but we didn't know if they were murdered because it was part of the mission or because they were discovered. This is something we'll likely never know." Brian declared.

He remained quiet for a few moments before saying. "Look… maybe it's better you leave the organization? I'm really worried about you getting involved in something so dangerous…"

"F*ck you Brian!" She said. "Do you think I'm going to quit now? I'm in this until the bitter end!"

"I know… but I want you to be careful, ok?" Brian said.

Now she was giggling and said. "Shit, Brian! Are you afraid of Dom kicking your ass if something ever happened to me?"

Brian became annoyed. "Of course not. Take care, Letty. Keep in touch!"

Letty hung up the phone and drove back to Mia's house. She decided that she wouldn't think about her _supposed_ pregnancy just yet.

Like she told Brian, she'd finish what she started. After this was all over then she could think about what to do.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was very early in the morning but Mia couldn't sleep. She'd had another nightmare about Dom being arrested by the police and being taken back to Lompoc. Mia couldn't imagine a worse fate for her brother than to return to Lompoc Prison.

Mia rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed trying to forget the bad dream that she had just had. She wanted to call Dom but she knew that he wouldn't like it especially… because Letty was there.

When she felt better after her dream, Mia got up to begin her day. It was Saturday. She didn't need to do a shift at the hospital that day. She'd been working as a nurse and studying medicine since Dom and Letty had left LA.

Mia put on her mother's old robe, faded and with yellow flowers on it, and walked towards the kitchen. A cup of coffee would help her wake up and send away the bad aura of her nightmare.

However, when she walked down the hall she heard Letty in the bathroom coughing and vomiting. She was worried about her and knocked on the door and said. "Letty, are you ok?"

"Yeah!" She said but then she was vomiting again.

"No, it doesn't sound you're ok." Mia insisted. "Open the door and let me help you."

"No. I'll be fine! I just need that chamomile tea that only you know how to make. Could you make a cup for me?"

"Of course I can." Mia said and quickly left for the kitchen.

Ten minutes later Letty arrived in the kitchen wearing one of Dom's old shirts. It was so long on her tiny frame that it came down past her knees. She was as white as a ghost and had dark circles around her eyes.

Mia handed her the cup of tea and Letty sipped a little at a time. Mia then got a package of crackers and put them on the kitchen table in front of Letty.

"Here! Crackers can help to calm an upset stomach." Mia nervously said.

Letty thanked her and ate a cracker and sipped more tea.

"How long have you been sick?" Mia asked.

"I felt sick just today." Letty lied.

Mia pulled up a chair and sat in front of Letty, facing her and said. "Really? What about yesterday and the day before yesterday? I'm afraid that my cooking is causing you an intestinal infection or something!"

Letty sipped her last bit of tea and lowered her head to avoid looking at Mia and said. "You don't need to worry. I'll be fine!"

Letty was about to get up out of the chair when Mia held her by the arm. Sometimes Letty forgot that Mia could be as persuasive as her brother. "Letty…are you pregnant?" She got to the point.

"_God Damn it_, Mia! Don't ask me that question!" Letty yelled turning back to Mia.

"Oh Letty… I need to know… please!" Mia's eyes were full of tears now. "Are you pregnant by my brother?"

"I don't know." Letty finally answered looking nervous.

"You need to take a pregnancy test. I can go to the drugstore with you to buy one. Heck…I'll go for you!" Mia insisted.

"I'm not going to take any test!" Letty nervously answered.

"Letty, don't be so stubborn! Not this time! We're not kids anymore and if you're going to have a baby, my brother n…"

"Your brother what…?" Letty angrily asked. "If I'm going to have a baby you'll do what? Are you going to call Dom? Don't you think it would be better if you tell me where is he first?"

"I can't." Mia quietly said.

"You _can't_ or you _won't_?" Letty taunted. "Whether I'm pregnant or not… it's none of Dom's business since he dumped me. He made his choice. I'll assume this responsibility on my own, Mia. I have to."

"No! I can help you. This baby will be my niece or nephew!" Mia insisted.

"Let's stop talking about a baby that we don't even know exists!" Letty snapped.

Letty walked down the hall back to Dom's bedroom. She needed to be alone for a while. Mia didn't follow her.

Later, Mia saw her dressed in her jeans, a t-shirt and jacket, ready to go out and asked. "Where are you going, Letty?"

"Out." That's all she said as she left the house without any explanation to Mia.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Letty drove for a long time with no destination until she stopped in front of a drugstore. Mia was right, even if she was annoying sometimes!

Letty did need to take a pregnancy test and find out exactly what she was risking on that mission to bring Dom back.

She got out of the car carrying the GPS that Giselle had given to her night before. She needed to be ready if she was contacted by Braga. Once in the drugstore, she grabbed the first pregnancy test that she saw. She paid for it and went to the ladies room in the back of the store.

Letty did the test and waited impatiently for the few minutes that it took to show her result. The test couldn't be wrong…could it? Two pink lines. She _was_ pregnant!

Letty moved her trembling fingers through her hair. She wanted to scream! But there was nothing she could do about it now. She could repeat the test but her gut instinct told her that it would have the same result. No matter how many times she repeated it…she would still be pregnant!

"What am I going to do?" She said with tears streaming from her dark eyes.

Suddenly the GPS went off. Letty quickly removed it from her black leather jacket _"Showing coordinates…"_ A woman's voice on the GPS sounded, and an upload window started counting from 0 to 100%.

If she wanted an answer about what to do - Letty just got it when the GPS called her. She needed to finish that mission, _get_ the evidence to Brian and _then_ she could think about the baby she was carrying. Dom would come back to her. How would he react when he knew he was going to be a dad?

Letty left her thoughts for another time. She had work to do. She called Brian and told him she has just been contacted.

"Don't forget about the microphone!" He said. "Please Letty… don't go anywhere without the microphone. It's, also, the only way to track where you are."

"_I got it_!" She said going back to her car. An hour later she was in a huge warehouse across the city.

All the drivers were checked in and Letty had no choice but to take off her microphone and destroy it. Braga's men were searching for electronic devices like microphones and tracking devices so Letty had to dump hers quick. Brian would kill her for this but if the microphone was discovered, Braga's men would kill her for real.

During the time that the drivers were being checked, black bags were being placed in their cars. Letty had no idea what the contents of the bags were but she suspected that they were drugs.

After the inspection, Campos sent the drivers to drive into a semi trailer. Letty thought that it was very strange but she didn't question anything. She knew better!

The journey was extremely long and uncomfortable and she was beginning to get really worried when the truck finally stopped. The drivers were instructed to exit the truck. Giselle was waiting for them and instructed the drivers to follow Phoenix.

"Where are we going?" Letty dared to ask.

"You'll know when we get there, _princess_." Phoenix maliciously said smirking at Letty, showing off his ugly gold teeth to her.

Letty didn't smile back and got back into her car. She knew that they were somewhere in the frontier between United States and Mexico. She could definitely smell trouble coming.

"You cannot divert from Phoenix's route!" Giselle announced. "Good luck drivers!"

Phoenix started his car and took off at high speed and the other drivers followed him in high pursuit in one single file. They were all silent like a scorpion in the sand in the desert.

Letty was in the second to last position in the chain of speed. Diogo Muñoz was immediately behind Letty…in last position. Diogo Munoz had been kind to Letty since they met again since the bar and she had become quite fond of him. She was kind of glad that they were in this together.

The cars sped in single file and entered a hard to see entrance of a tunnel hiding between some rocks and hills in the desert. Letty felt sick when she entered the claustrophobic tunnel, and she had to really concentrate on maneuvering her car through the narrow tunnel and avoid fallen debris lying in her path.

They exited the tunnel and found themselves in an isolated area in the desert. Letty thought they had reached the final frontier! Letty stopped her car beside Diogo's car and lowered her head for a few seconds trying to overcome the need to vomit.

When she got out of the car she was pale and Diogo came closer to her and asked. "Hey! You ok?" Letty nodded as she saw the bags being removed from their cars.

"What now?" One of the drivers with a strong Hispanic accent asked.

"When are we going to be paid?" Another driver asked. "Why are we here?"

"Shut up you bastards!" Phoenix angrily shouted.

"Donde está mi dinero? (Where's my money?)." A driver yelled making Phoenix lose his patience.

Immediately, Phoenix pulled out a powerful gun and shot the man who had challenged him in the head.

Letty slowly took a step back. Diogo was in shock. Two of Braga's henchmen approached Letty and Diogo but Letty kicked one of them in the crotch and ran towards her car.

"What the f*ck is going on here?" Letty screamed to Diogo who was attempting to pound on the other henchman.

Diogo tried to run towards Letty, facing the gunfire. The drivers were being executed one by one. Letty got into her car, fired the engine up and tried to help Diogo. "Let's go Diogo!"

But it was already too late. A bullet struck him in the head and he quickly dropped to the ground. Letty accelerated her car and took off out of there amongst a spray of gunfire. Phoenix got in to his car and pursued Letty, hot on her bumper.

Phoenix relentlessly chased Letty for several miles. Letty could not shake this guy! She was starting to panic and her hands were beginning to tremble. Her head began to spin.

Letty was driving at over 120 miles per hour and the road was wet. During one sharp curve, her car skidded and flipped over as she tried to correct this maneuver during her panic. Letty was strong and fought to stay conscious…and not vomit… even when the car finally stopped on its roof.

Trying to catch her breath Letty exited the car. She could hear the footsteps of Phoenix coming closer to her. If she stayed there she wouldn't stand a chance of surviving.

Letty tried to be strong and crawled away from the car and hid in the dense underbrush alongside the road.

She could still hear Phoenix's voice taunting her. "Where are you! You _f*cking_ _bitch_? Don't think this is over because I'll find you! _Even in hell_!"

_**To be continued…**_


	6. Back to LA

Chapter 6 - Return to L.A.

_**Road to Los Angeles, 210 miles from San Diego**_

1 year later 

Dominic Toretto had stopped on the side of a deserted road in the middle of the night and got out of his car.

The tires on his car appeared to be smoldering because of the heat, and the engine had been making a strange noise. He opened the hood to check the engine. Instantly, a nauseous, grey smoke wafted through the air, making Dom cough…just like the car had seemed to be doing a few minutes earlier.

"Why now buddy?" Dom spoke to his car, as if he were talking to a friend. "After so many years together… you're going to let me down now!"

His old red Chevelle, his loyal companion during many adventures, was finally tired and had had enough. Dom should have known that this would happen sooner or later. He'd been driving this car the entire time that Letty had run off to Mexico with Leon, 5 years ago.

Since then the mileage of the car had been steadily creeping higher and higher. Dom hadn't been too concerned about maintaining the car properly… just as long as it kept getting him from A to B.

"I swear… if you start now… I promise to change your oil, make a few sweet, illegal little modifications… and… I'll even paint you, again!" Dom coaxed but the car stubbornly remained silent on the side of the road, even after several attempts to restart the engine.

If only Dom could get to a garage, he could do a few repairs and keep on driving to LA, but he knew the next garage was miles away from there.

Frustrated and exhausted, Dom removed his backpack from the trunk and walked to the roadside to thumb a ride.

Dom wondered to himself, _"Who'd be crazy enough, in the middle of the night, to give a ride to a stranger that looked like he did?"_ They'd probably think that he was a criminal… and they'd be right!

About half an hour later, with not one single soul passing him by on the road, Dominic finally saw a pair of headlights approaching in the distance. As they neared, he could tell that they belonged to a large semi truck and trailer with a furniture logo on the side.

Perfect! Dom thought that if there was space inside the semi, and if the driver agreed, he could enter the city limits undetected by police… with his Chevelle, by hiding inside the trailer of the truck!

It was very dark and he quickly ran for his flashlight from his car to signal the driver. The truck slowed to a stop and a big, blond woman, wearing a red hat spoke to him. "Hey handsome! What's goin' on?"

"I'm having problems with my engine." He said. "I have a good idea what's wrong but I don't have the tools…"

The woman nodded and said. "Hombre (man) the nearest garage is about 400 miles from here. Are you going to LA?"

"Yeah!" Dom sighed and replied.

"You're a lucky man. I'm heading to L.A, too. You want a ride?" She asked with a grin. She already knew his answer.

"Sure do." He answered. "But… I don't want to leave my Chevelle, you know? This car is like my best friend."

The woman smiled. "I understand you, honey. I love my truck, too. We can put your _best friend_ in the back. I'm not carrying that big of a load."

"Thanks a lot, Ma'am." Dom said with relief.

The woman opened the door of the truck and hopped out. She was taller than he'd have guessed, and she seemed tough like women on the road should be. She had a pistol hanging from a holster on her jeans. Maybe this was the reason she was so confidant about him.

"I'm Rosita. You are?" She asked him after they had pushed the Chevelle into the back of the truck.

"Dom." He said and offered his hand out to her.

"I like your name. It's tough. Like you." She grinned and shook his hand. Dom smiled.

"Why are you going to LA, Dom?" Rosita asked.

"I have to fix something important there." Dom quietly said.

"Right." She said. "My Grandmother… God rest her soul… used to say, "Never put off 'til tomorrow what you can do today!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
_**  
Los Angeles**_

5 years before

Dom entered the garage, holding the jack that he had gotten from his secret stash of tools that he kept behind the kitchen door.

He noticed Brian in the garage talking with Mia. Dom liked the young man but he didn't appreciate the way that Mia always hung around him when he was there. He'd known men like Brian Spilner before. They all had angel faces and oozed charm. They were harmless but dangerous at the same time.

Men like Brian, were always looking for new conquests and Dom didn't want Mia to be Brian's next one. He didn't want her to get hurt. He'd protected Mia her entire life against disappointment. Men like Brian would always disappointment.

All Dom had ever wanted for Mia was for her to have a better life than he had had. Dom wanted a good and honest life for Mia…and for her to be safe and secure.

When Brian noticed Dom in the garage, he seemed a bit insecure. Dom had a way of making him feel like this when he was around. He quickly released Mia from his embrace and said to Dom. "I'm leaving. I got things to do."

"Drive safe!" Dom said in a serious voice trying to pretend he didn't care about the romantic scene he'd just witnessed between Brian and his own little sister.

"Bye, Mia." Bryan said as he moved towards the door to exit the garage.

"Bye." She said sounding a bit disappointed.

After Brian had left, Don questioned his sister in an authoritative way. "Isn't there a test or something that you should be studying for right now?"

"Don't worry about it, Dom. I can handle it and I know what I have to do, ok?" Mia said, sounded annoyed.

"No. I'm worried about you. You're not doing enough studying…especially with _him_ around." Dom snapped.

"Get off my back, Dom!" Mia said and stomped out of the garage.

At that moment Letty, who had been quietly working under a nearby car, rolled out from under and sat up on her both of her elbows.

"Hey Dom, don't you think that your sister is entitled to a little happiness?" Letty seriously asked.

"Of course she's entitled to a little happiness!" He barked as he held up the hood of the car he was planning on working on. He thought quietly for a few seconds before adding. "I have to make sure she keeps working hard…to get ahead…to get out of here!

Dom dropped the jack on the floor. He was annoyed. "She doesn't belong here!" He pointed around the garage. "Why do you care, anyway?"

"She's old enough to make her own decisions, man!" Letty said. She wasn't intimidated with him yelling at her.

"Letty, this…" He started to say but stopped mid sentence when Letty grabbed him by the arm and firmly said. "Dom…you don't need to worry about her! She's going to be ok…and she's going to stay by your side." Letty tried to convince him.

Dom felt his anger leave him as he looked into those beautiful dark eyes that he loved so much. Her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail. She was beautiful. "Yeah? And are you going to stay by my side?" He asked when she came closer to him.

"Maybe…" She seductively answered as she started to unbutton the buttons on his shirt. The best part of having a heated discussion was the making up.

"_Maybe?"_ Dom repeated her words in the same tone as she had used. They looked into each others eyes for a few seconds. Their faces were so close.

"You don't know it…but you don't need to be such a tough guy all of the time!" Letty whispered.

Dom came closer to her and took in the sweet aroma of her hair. Letty teased him, touching her face gently onto his before starting to kiss him slowly, inserting her tongue little by little into his mouth.

He was enjoying her kisses so much, and he intensely kissed her back. Dom followed her lead, as he felt her muffled laugh against his body.

Soon his big hands were alive, roughly touching her ass, as he quickly raised her up off the ground. Letty quietly laughed, again.

"Watch out, man!" She said smiling and putting her both hands on his chest.

He walked through the garage with her in his lap. Letty wrapped her legs around his waist and whipped a rag around in the air, like a cowboy would whip his lasso, and seductively whispered into his ear. "I like you…"

Dom carried her towards a small couch pushed up against the wall in the garage and sat down with Letty still in his lap. He needed her desperately! He aggressively moved his lips down her neck and down her breasts, kissing them over the white t-shirt that she was wearing.

"Mmmmm…" She moaned seductively. She knew that Dom loved it when she reacted this way.

"You know what I want to do with you now, don't you?" He murmured into her ear. She laughed and moved away just for a moment, long enough to quickly remove her own t-shirt, and then she sat back in his lap wearing only her white bra.

"I have no idea." She said teasing him.

He looked at her like he was going to devour her. Then Dom sighed and looked around. "I'm thinking… that what I want to do with you… perhaps I can't do here…someone will catch us!" Dom said as he nibbled on her chin and pressed his body slowly up against hers.

"Oh f**k, Dom! I need you know!" She said grinning maliciously at him.

This was the only thing in the world that Dom needed to hear at that moment. With a big ole grin on his face, Dom continued to touch her ass with his strong hands. Then he paid special attention to her delicate breasts with his tongue… they seemed to be calling for him inside of her skimpy little bra.

Letty felt her whole body tremble, as she realized the intensity of Dom's desire for her. She always enjoyed seeing this side of him… since the first time they were together.

Dom closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her soft skin. It was such a pleasant contrast to the smell of oil and grease from the garage. There was no better place to be…than here with Letty… now…in one of their favorite places.

While Dom was nibbling on Letty's shoulder, his hands were expertly opening the clasp of her bra… releasing her breasts for him.

Dom smiled and touched her breasts gently with his face before he slowly touched her lips with his. Letty closed her eyes and moaned in her deep, husky voice. Dom moved his hands down her back and then moved them around to her tummy and placed them on the button of her jeans.

Dom was always looking at her….studying her…. attempting to read her mind…figure her out somehow… to discover what it was that she really wanted from him.

Letty had always been an independent and strong woman, but during those intimate moments with Dom, she let him be the strong one… she let him almost dominate her…_allowed_ him to take control.

Dom knew this about her…that she put aside her "_tough girl_" attitude when they were together, to just become his beautiful woman. He adored this part of her.

Dom stood up with her still in his lap and walked over to the car again. He placed her down on the hood of the car and slowly removed her jeans. He was crazy about her long, gorgeous and strong legs.

He gazed at her for a moment and savored the vision of Letty in her tiny black panties. "Oh _mami_!" He whispered as he kissed her cheek. "Come here, _bella mia_…"

Letty felt so vulnerable when he talked to her like this. Like her, Dom had his romantic moments that he only shared when they were alone. Letty felt a thrill, realizing that she was the only one to see this side of Dom.

Holding Letty close, Dom carried her back to the sofa. This time, Dom pushed the backrest down and lay down on top of her. He wanted to look into her eyes while they made love.

"Are you having fun?" She asked as she watched his smile of appreciation as his eyes roamed all over her body.

"Always, _baby_." Dom said in his deep voice that drove Letty crazy.

He slid his big hands over her hips and then roughly slid off her panties. "Wow, _papi_!" She said. "I think I awakened a beast!" She was laughing now.

"Yeah…I was always the strong and silent one…until and you came along… tempting me…this is your fault young lady!" Dom teased her.

Dom smiled and started to open his own pants. He stopped. He wanted to tease her….to tempt her… before he made love to her.

Dom's hands touched her breasts, gently squeezing them between his fingers and thumbs. He smiled when she pushed her hips against his, trying to catch her breath.

He lovingly touched her for a few minutes before he slowly moved his hands down the side of her body and along her ribs, enjoying her delicate, silky skin under his fingertips.

"I could touch you all day and I'd never get tired of being with you like this…" He slid a finger inside her belly button and smiled. "I love your cute little belly button…"

Letty wanted to talk, but the way that he was touching her body was making her lose her control. Screw talking Dom!

Dom noticed the way that Letty was looking at him and he knew she was ready for him. Letty opened her arms to him and Dom quickly removed his pants and underwear.

Letty sighed and murmered in Spanish. "_Venga, hombre_!"

Dom lay down on top of Letty, kissing her passionately while one of his hands touched her between her legs. Letty moaned uncontrollably as Dom held her at her hips. He raised her legs and prepared to make love to her when they both heard footsteps approach the garage door.

Immediately, they were still and silent. Letty was trying really hard to hold back her laughter at seeing Dom's face. He was almost panicking. "Mia? Is that you?" Dom nervously asked.

"It' me, Dom!" Vince said. "Are you working on the fag's car? I want to tell you, dude, that stupid son of a bitch is…"

"Vince! If you want to continue being my best friend then get the hell out of here! Now!" Dom yelled.

"Why…?" Vince started to say but still stubbornly stood in front of the garage door.

Letty pulled Dom by the neck and gave him a wet kiss, moaning loud to encourage Vince to go away. Vince was always a bit slow upstairs but he finally understood why he had to leave. "Oh! I'm so sorry guys!" He nervously said. "I didn't notice that you were…you know…"

Vince left the garage feeling very embarrassed. After he left, Letty couldn't control her laughing anymore and Dom joined her. "You are a _bad girl_!" Dom growled.

"I`m evil… I know…" Letty said as she pushed Dom`s body away from her just long enough to change positions so that she was the one on top.

"Really?" Dom asked grabbing her by the waist as she sat up on top of him. "Why don't you show me how wicked you can be…mami?"

Letty was giggling now, but she held her breath when their bodies became one. Both of them closed their eyes and moans escaped their lips as their bodies began dancing together.

Dom stopped moving inside of her for a few seconds. He looked at her and enjoyed the view of Letty naked, moving her hips against him. She was his at that moment.

"_Letty…Letty_…" Dom whispered.

"Who's Letty?" A voice suddenly asked, ruining his wonderful dream.

"What?" Dom said waking up so suddenly that he'd almost hit his head on the roof of truck.

"Man, you were moaning and calling for someone named Letty. So… who's Letty?" Rosita asked. "You called for her two times.

"Ok, I think I did get some sleep." That was all he said. He was feeling embarrassed to have had a dream like that about Letty… in front of a stranger. But going back to Los Angeles, and seeing Letty again after one year of missing her… it was more than he could stand.

"That's ok! You don't have to tell me who she is! Some memories we have the right to keep to ourselves, especially the good ones!" Rosita said and laughed.

It was almost morning now. They passed a welcome sign on the side of the road. _Welcome to Los Angeles._

Dom felt his anxiety grow. He was very close to seeing Letty again. He could feel it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_**Dominican Republic - Present**_

Soledad handed Letty an envelope containing money and Letty began counting the cash. It wasn't much, but adding it to the money that she had already saved, it would be enough to get her and Nina back to LA.

Letty would worry about who she'd ask for help from when she got back to L.A.

Letty knew she couldn't walk around town as if she were a free woman. The same people who forced her to leave the United States would likely still be looking for her. She didn`t want to run anymore. Her daughter deserved a better future than this.

"The money is ok?" Soledad asked in her broken English.

"Si, muchas gracias."(Yes, thank you very much). Letty said.

"Are you sure are you want to leave?" Soledad asked.

"It`s time! I need to get back to LA." Letty stated.

Soledad looked at Caterina moving her little legs as she sat in her baby seat. The baby seemed to be grinning and talking in her baby language as if she was talking to them.

"Letty… I told you I can take care of the baby until you come back. You don't know where you are you going to stay in LA, yet. How are you going to take of care her?" Soledad asked.

"I appreciate everything you've done for me, Soledad. The job in your brother's garage and the money you lent me when I gave birth… Thanks so much for helping me with Nina, too, but I would never leave my baby!" Letty said.

"You don't need to thank me, Chica! You've worked very hard, and you already paid back what you owe me. Forgive me for making you wait so long to receive your last payment." The middle aged woman said as she pulled Letty into a big bear hug.

"You know tu eres una hermana para mi (You are a sister to me. If someday you need a place to stay again just call me. Mi casa es su casa. (My home is your home). Soledad beamed.

Letty hugged Soledad one more time and then placed the money in a small bag that she tied around her waist and hid under her jacket. She placed her heavy backpack on her back and grabbed the babyseat where Caterina was sleeping.

"Vaya con Dios, amiga!"(Go with God, my friend). Soledad said as Letty hopped onto the small bus that would take her away from her friends that had helped her during her hardest time.

Now it was time to go back home and face her fears.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_**Los Angeles **_

Mia was late for work. She'd eaten her breakfast as she walked around the house, taking care some domestic duties that she hadn't had the time to get done, yet. After she had received Dom`s phone call announcing he was coming back, Mia was feeling very nervous.

Mia knew that Dom would never do anything to destroy her peaceful and honest life. She wasn't afraid for herself… but for Dom.

Mia thought that Dom should have lost his mind to ever consider coming back to LA. Mia knew that it had to be because of Letty. Mia knew that Dom couldn't live too long without her.

However, there were things that Dom didn't know. Mia didn't want to tell him the truth, especially because she didn't know where Letty actually was. Dominic would probably freak if he couldn't find her.

Mia finished her chores and she was just about to get her purse to go to work when the door bell rang. Her heart sped up. Would Dom have come back in broad daylight? She hurriedly rushed to answer the door. She was anxious to hold her brother again after so many years.

However, it wasn't Dom who was knocking on her door that morning. It was the last person that she ever thought that she would see again.

"Brian! What are you doing here?" Mia asked frowning. She was very shocked to see him standing in her doorway.

_**Continued ...**_


	7. Running away

**Chapter 7 - Running away**

_**Los Angeles, 1 year earlier.**_

Letty had small pieces of glass in her hair. There was blood dripping down her forehead from an open wound at the top of her head. It oozed down her face and into her lips, making her taste her own blood.

Letty was in pain. Every inch of her body ached. She forced herself to mentally count every step that she had to take to continue moving forward. She felt cold because her body was entering into shock, but she couldn't give up now.

She'd already escaped from certain death, and she'd continue to fight for her life, until the absolute last moment that she couldn't anymore. She wasn't there, yet.

The pain in Letty's abdomen was unbearable, and as she trudged through the swamp it became more and more unbearable with every step. Letty felt that her body was breaking apart inside.

The pain was so unbelievable that she wanted to scream…but she didn't have the strength. She knew that she was bleeding to death. She could feel her jeans were soaked with blood…and it wasn't stopping. She was losing her baby. Dom's baby!

"No!" Letty moaned as she leaned up against an old tree. She held her tummy with her bloody hands in a desperate attempt to avoid the miscarriage that seemed inevitable.

Letty checked her cell phone again, only to discover the "no signal" flashing back at her. It was like slap in the face. She groaned and tucked the phone back into her jacket pocket.

Why had she been so stupid as to continue on that mission after she'd discovered that she was pregnant? She could have told Brian that she was quitting! But Letty knew deep down that she would never have given up, because it was her last hope to bring Dom home.

Letty had no strength left to continue walking. She slumped down to the ground at the base of a tree. Her body was trembling, uncontrollably. So this was the end?

She was going to die… all alone… in a dark swamp… in the middle of the night with her unborn child. Nothing to be proud of, Letty ironically thought!

Suddenly, Letty heard footsteps approach her from somewhere in the darkness. "_Fenix!_" Her mind screamed in desperation as she panicked, trying to think of a way to escape again.

Instead of being ambushed by Fenix, Letty heard a woman scream. "_Oh My God_! Jason! It's a woman!" Letty was deathly still as she heard the voice say. "Is she dead? I told you that I didn't want to come out here!"

"Stay calm Ella!" A man's voice said this time. "I think she's still alive…" He came closer to Letty and whispered…almost afraid. "_Hey_! You okay?"

Letty took in a deep breath and relaxed when she realized that these people weren't going to hurt her.

For some strange reason, Letty thought that maybe they were a couple looking for a private make out spot. They definitely weren't Braga's people.

"Please! Help me…" Letty begged, but her voice was too weak and it came out as a muffled whisper because of the pain.

The man kneeled down beside her. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"Jason? I think we better call the police!" The woman suggested.

"Shut up, Ella!" He said concentrating his attention back towards Letty. "What happened, girl? Were you robbed or something?"

"Car crash….please… help me…. I'm pregnant…my baby…" That was all that Letty could say before losing complete consciousness.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Letty woke up to the sound of an irritating noise. She asked herself, where the hell it could be coming from. Her head was spinning.

When she tried to move, she felt someone's hand gently restrain her arm. She heard a man's voice tell her to remain still.

"Hey! Don't move." A soft spoken male voice said to her.

Letty slowly opened her eyes and weakly asked. "Where is that damn noise coming from?"

"It's the headache, but you'll feel better soon. The medication will help. You're a very lucky woman!" The man stated.

"Where am I?" She looked around, confused.

"You're in the hospital. You're still in the emergency department." He explained. "I'm Doctor Larson. A couple brought you here. They said they found you in the swamp.

"What happened?" The doctor asked. "Can you remember?"

"I…think I had a car accident!" Letty stammered.

"That makes sense!" He said. "I found glass in your hair. You've got a deep cut on your head that I stitched up, and your arm is broken." Letty looked at the cast on her left arm.

"You have some lacerations on your legs, too. But I'm most concerned about your pregnancy. You were bleeding a lot." Dr. Larson stated.

She blinked still feeling groggy and quietly asked. "Am I still pregnant?"

The doctor smiled and said. "Like I said… you're a lucky woman. The couple that brought you here mentioned that you were pregnant. I was called immediately. I'm an obstetrician. I took care of the bleeding. Luckily, I managed to stop it. Even so, you need to remain in the hospital, on bed rest for a few days. You need to be careful until the baby is born, but you'll both be fine!"

Letty wanted to cry. She was still pregnant! She would still give birth to her baby. It was a miracle!

"I need to know your name so that I can take care of the paperwork for the hospital. Do you have health insurance?" Dr. Larson asked.

"No, but I can pay for my expenses. I just need to contact my friend." Letty stated.

"What's your name?" Dr. Larson nodded and asked.

Letty thought for a moment. Braga told Fenix to kill _all _of the drivers… but Letty had survived. Now they wanted to kill her because she knew the truth about them and their organization.

But this wasn't just about her life anymore. She was carrying a baby and she needed to protect this baby from any harm.

"My name is Maria Fernandez." She finally said.

"Okay Ms. Fernandez. If you call your friend then I can start the appropriate paperwork…" Dr. Larson explained.

"Can you call my friend for me, please? Her name is Mia Toretto. Her phone number is 555-342-701." Letty weakly asked.

Dr. Larson jotted the phone number down and then left. Letty rifled through the pocket of her jacket that had been sitting on the foot of her bed and found her cell phone. She was relieved that it was still there. Once the doctor had left the room, Letty called Brian.

"Letty! Where the hell are you?" Brian's voice sounded desperate. "We lost contact with you hours ago and…"

"Brian I quit!" Letty simply said.

"What? I'm afraid I don't quite understand." Brian asked becoming agitated.

"The situation has changed. I have to leave Los Angeles." Letty said.

"What do you mean….you have to leave LA?" Brian snapped.

"Brian! I couldn't find anything to help you arrest Braga." She lied. "You need to find somebody else… because I quit!"

"Letty, you can't quit now!" Brian shouted. "We're so close to getting Braga and clearing Dom's name!"

"No Brian! It's over! Please forget about what I asked you to do…and forget about me, too." Letty quietly said.

She hung up the phone and removed the chip from inside. She wasn't going to use that phone ever again. She'd do whatever it took to make sure that Braga's men would never find her.

She knew that if they ever did… they'd kill her…and Dom's baby.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mia thought it very strange when she received a phone call from a hospital saying that her friend _Maria Fernandez_ was there and needed her help. Mia soon understood what it was all about because she hadn't seen Letty since the night before.

Mia asked herself why Letty would be using a fake name. Maybe this was about Dom! Mia needed to know…and she had to help Letty.

When Mia arrived at the hospital, she was immediately taken to the room where Letty was hospitalized. There was a nurse there changing the I.V. bag that was dripping into Letty's arm.

Mia waited until the nurse left the room, before talking with Letty.

"What the hell's going on, Letty?" Mia whispered in a scared voice. She was very worried seeing Letty in that hospital bed, looking like she did. Her arm was in a cast and her face was all cut up and bruised

"I had a car accident!" Letty answered. "I was driving too fast…"

"You had a car accident? You were racing? But why were you racing if you're…" Mia trailed off.

"Pregnant?" Letty quietly finished Mia's sentence. "Don't worry…the baby is ok."

Mia sighed in relief and pulled a chair closer to Letty's bed. "So _you are_ pregnant! What's going on? Why are you using a fake name?" Mia asked her.

"Because I got involved with the wrong guys, Mia" Letty abruptly answered.

"What do you mean?" Mia asked puzzled.

"That's all you need to know, Mia. The real reason that I called you here, is because I need to get money from my account to pay for my medical expenses. I have to stay a few more days here because of the baby."

"Yes sure." Mia said. "When are you going to tell Dom about the baby?"

"I have no idea where he is, so it doesn't matter!" Letty bitterly said.

"I can contact him Letty. He needs to know…" Mia started to explain, but Letty quickly cut her off.

"No! He doesn't need to know! It's none of his business!" Letty snapped.

"Of course he needs to know! He's the baby's father!" Mia protested.

"Don't be silly, Mia! Dom won't come back here because of the baby. He's gone forever!" Letty said.

"Letty, he…" Mia stammered.

"He made his choice…and I'm making mine. I'll stay in this hospital until the doctor says the baby is ok… then I'm leaving Los Angeles." Letty firmly stated.

"And where will you go? What about the baby?" Mia asked.

"I'm going to a place where my baby will be born safe!" Letty quietly said.

"No Letty! You have to stay here. I can help you with the baby." Mia begged.

"It's not safe for me and my baby here, Mia. Don't you understand?" Letty said.

"There's something you're not telling me!" Mia raised her voice.

"Mia… we've been friends for a very long time. We overcome many obstacles, like the phase of us both competing for Dom's attention. Mia…for the sake of our friendship… I'm asking you not to tell Dom that I'm going to have his child."

"I can't do that, Letty! Dom needs to know…" Mia was pleading with Letty now.

"You swore a loyalty to him and I respect that. Now I need you to help me. Trust me, Mia. I know what I'm doing." Letty was firm.

Mia agreed. She had no choice. "Do you know where you're going to go?"

"I have no idea." Letty said. "But I'll be fine!"

"I'll get you the money for your medical expenses. Just promise me…promise me that you'll write and tell me about you and the baby. I need to know that your both ok." Mia asked.

"I promise." Letty quietly said.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Four days later, Doctor Larson told Letty that the baby would be ok and that she could leave. She arranged for an airplane ticket back to The Dominican that day, via phone, but she didn't share her plans with Mia.

Letty thought that when she arrived in The D.R., she'd find a small town and get a job until the baby was born. Then she'd think about what to do next. Her flight would be leaving that night.

Letty was just waiting to say good-bye to Mia. Brian hadn't found her, yet. He probably didn't know where start looking…especially under her assumed name, so it would better to leave before he did find her.

Letty had decided that she'd made the right decision… to not risk her life or the life of her baby. She waited for Mia to arrive at the hospital. She was ready to go, sitting patiently in the reception area with her backpack between her feet on the floor.

Finally, her friend came to the hospital. Mia was holding a package and a small bag in her hands. "What's this?" Letty curiously asked.

"It's a snack for later, for your trip." Mia showed Letty the package. "You know airplane food isn't the greatest."

"Thanks chick!" Letty said examining the small package and discovering a turkey sandwich and orange juice.

"And this…" Mia showed the little bag. "This is the first gift for the baby."

"Really?" Letty said smiling and looked inside the bag. It was a white teddy bear with a big green ribbon wrapped around its neck. "Oh, it's so cute!" Letty beamed. "Thanks, Mia."

They hugged each other. "Please Letty… send me news soon!" Mia begged. Tears were forming in her eyes.

"Yeah, I will. Don't worry!" Letty assured her.

"You know, I was thinking… that if you had a baby girl…. I could see Dom acting all goofy towards his little girl…" Mia giggled.

"I'm sure it's going to be a girl!" Letty said pretending she didn't hear what Mia said about Dom. She smiled and caressed her tummy.

"Take care of yourself Letty!" Mia pleaded.

"I'll be just fine, Mia." Letty reassured her once again before she finally left the hospital and took a taxi to the airport.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The trip to the airport was quiet but when Letty arrived, she felt sick to her stomach and she needed to rush to the ladies room before checking in.

Carrying her backpack, she hurried to the ladies room and entered the first stall and vomited everything she had managed to eat that morning.

"Damn it!" Letty cursed. She washed her mouth, face and hands in the sink. Her backpack was at her side on the floor. Her handbag containing some of her money, the snack and the gift that Mia had given her, was on her shoulder.

Suddenly she heard the door of the room open and through the mirror she saw Fenix standing right behind her.

"Hello, _Chica_. Did you miss me?" He asked with a malicious smile on his face. He held a knife in his left hand. Letty felt sick again, but this time it wasn't because of the pregnancy. She was terrified.

"This time I'm not going to shoot you, _baby_. Oh no…" He said as he slowly approached her.

Letty looked at the door behind Fenix, imagining a way to escape but focused on him again when he said. "I'm going to cut you into little pieces. What do you think about that? Braga doesn't want you alive…neither do I!"

Letty took in a deep breath, and then she quickly turned around and kicked Fenix hard in the abdomen before he could grab her. The knife dropped from his grasp. They fought for a few minutes. Letty was small, but she was faster than Fenix.

He punched her in the face, splitting open her lip and making it bleed. Letty managed to kick him in the groin and he released her from his bone crunching grip. He fell down moaning in pain. Letty took advantage and ran out of the ladies room as fast as she could.

However, during the struggle, Letty was unable to grab her backback from the floor, that contained all of her clothes… and most of her money! She was only able to grab her handbag.

As Letty ran, the teddy bear that Mia had given her fell to the ground. She wasn't able to go back and get it.

Letty tasted blood in her mouth. She was out of breath, but continued running as she thought about saving the life of her baby.

Fenix wasn't a stupid man…he had backup. A man and a woman spotted Letty running and started to chase her. They relentlessly pursued Letty through the terminal and one of them took a. shot at her.

They didn't seem concerned about witnesses seeing them…or shooting a gun in a public place.

Letty finally arrived at the check-in. She had lost the bad guys.

Perhaps they had changed their minds before they got to the security gate and given up on her? She didn't care why… she was just relieved to have gotten away from Fenix…again!

Letty knew that she was still in big trouble when she realized that she had lost most of her money that Dom had left her in that backpack. Her clothing was in there, too.

Everything was in that backpack. How would she survive without that stuff? Life would be a lot harder now. She knew she couldn't go back for it…Fenix would kill her for sure.

All Letty had was the little bit of cash in her handbag with her fake documents. Well at least she had those! She was sad that she had lost Mia's teddy bear as well.

She really was starting all over….a new life….from scratch….all alone.

No money. No clothes. No friends. No Dom.

_**To be continued…**_

**I just wanna say thanks to all reviews. Seems a lot to me!!!**


	8. The misunderstanding

**Chapter 8 - The misunderstanding **

_Los Angeles.__ 1 year later_

"May I come in?" Brian carefully asked as he prepared for Mia's reaction. She was scowling at him.

"Five years, Brian! And you think you can just waltz up to my door and expect me to let you come in?" Mia snapped.

"I need to talk to you!" He insisted.

Mia looked up at him. He was even more beautiful that she remembered, especially dressed as impeccably as he was. Brian was wearing a white shirt, dark blue suit and tie.

"I'm late for work!" She said. And it was the truth. However, she was making an excuse to avoid talking to him.

"It's about Letty." Brian quickly added when he realized Mia wouldn't let him to enter her house.

Mia was afraid now. Bad vibes raced through her body, when Brian told her he wanted to talk about Letty.

Mia hadn't heard a word _from_ Letty, or _about_ her, since she'd said good-bye to her at the hospital one year ago. Now she sensed that something was wrong… terribly wrong.

Dom was suddenly coming back to L.A. because he needed to find Letty! And the fact that Brian was standing in her doorway wanting to talk about Letty? Mia thought… no knew…that this was no coincidence…and it couldn't be good.

"Come in." She finally said.

As Brian entered Mia's living room, he reminisced about the great moments he'd experienced in that house five years ago. The good old days with the team, Dom, Mia, Letty, Leon, the annoying Vince and the crazy Jesse! Brian wondered where he'd put these memories until now…he seemed lost in time for a moment.

Polite as always, Mia motioned for him to sit on the couch and she offered him something to drink. Brian accepted a glass of water. He would need it, because of what he was about to say to her.

Mia went into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. She sat down beside Brian on the couch and finally asked. "What do you want to tell me about Letty?"

Brian swallowed a bit of water and stammered a bit. "I…I don't know where to begin!"

"Well, why don't you start from the beginning?" Mia said impatiently.

Brian looked at her and sighed. She was right. He began to explain everything. "About a year ago Letty came back to Los Angeles."

Mia already knew this. This part was obvious to her, but she preferred to sit quietly and continue listening to what Brian had to say. Something was telling her she wouldn't like this conversation one little bit.

"She came to see me at the FBI." Brian continued talking. "I don't know if you know this, but I was called back to the Bureau about three years ago." Mia remained silent, unemotional and just listened. "Anyway, Letty came to see me because she wanted my help to clear Dom's name."

Mia frowned and fidgeted a bit. She was very surprised at this news.

"I had an extremely difficult investigation on my hands…it involved a drug dealer named Arturo Braga. Braga was really bad news. Our previous undercover agents turned up dead, but I had a plan ready to infiltrate his organization, but my superior told me to forget about it. I think you know why. Maybe I'm not so good at going undercover!" He looked into her eyes and then down to his shoes and continued. "Then Letty showed up… and I thought she could do it. She'd be perfect to do it."

"You thought what?" Mia was almost screaming at him. Brian remembered that about Mia, she would only raise her voice when she was nervous…which wasn't very often.

"Braga was always looking for drivers to deliver his product, and I asked Letty if she would infiltrate Braga's organization as one of his drivers." Brian explained.

Mia was shocked. Now she understood everything. She understood what Letty had said at the hospital, one year ago, about getting involved with the wrong guys.

"Letty agreed she could do it. She was in! She got into the organization as a driver, but then something happened. It's something that I couldn't understand… until today." Brian explained.

"Brian…what is it?" Mia asked with concern… and fear in her voice.

"Letty called me a year ago to tell me that she was out of the mission. I tried to find her but I couldn't. She just disappeared." Brian stated.

"Brian, what do you mean…. _you couldn't understand until today_?" Mia nervously asked. She was afraid of his answer.

"She was driving a 1970 Plymouth that I gave her for the race….and to drive for Braga later." Brian explained to Mia. He was looking more nervous than she was. "This morning… the local police pulled her car from the river…"

Mia couldn't believe what Brian was about to say.

"A body was removed from the river, not so far from where the car was found. Mia… Letty has been missing since last year and…the body…it could be hers. The Plymouth is totally destroyed but…"

Mia remained quiet, but tears were rolling down her face and her lips were trembling.

"I'm so sorry to come here… to ask you to do this… but Mia I need you to identify the body…" Brian finally got it out.

Brian was not ready for the reaction that came next. Mia got up off the couch and slapped him several times.

She screamed at him. "You bastard! You should never have gotten Letty involved in your stupid business!"

"Mia! I'm so sorry… Letty just wanted to help Dom…" Brian tried to defend himself from Mia's slaps…and her verbal attack.

"And you needed someone to do your dirty work. You Son Of A Bitch!" She screamed at him through her tears.

"Mia!" Brian held her wrists, trying to make her to calm down and stop hitting him. She finally calmed down collapsed back onto the couch.

Brian went into the kitchen to get her a glass of water. "Mia, I'm so sorry to bring you such terrible news." He said as he handed the water to her.

Mia swallowed a sip of water. The tears continued to roll down her face. Now she knew why Letty never called or wrote to her to tell about the baby. She had probably been murdered in Los Angeles the same day that she was supposed to leave!

"Where's the body?" She asked.

"It was taken to the Police Morgue. I can take you there." Brian stated.

"So take me now!" Mia said as she wiped away her tears.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Home. Sweet home, Letty thought as she arrived at the airport in Los Angeles.

She was exhausted after her long journey that had begun on a hot, smelly bus from the little town that she had been living in for one year in the Dominican Republic. After the bus trip, and more waiting, she finally caught a comfortable flight to LA with Caterina.

"We're home, Nina!" Letty happily said when she saw the familiar sights of Los Angeles again.

Now she needed to decide where she was going to stay…and be safe! She was thinking about it as she was taking Nina to the ladies room to change her diaper.

She entered the ladies room, dragging her suitcase with her new clothes that she had bought in Santo Domingo. On her back was the backpack with Caterina's baby stuff, and in her other hand she was carrying the baby seat where Nina was sitting.

They were all alone in the ladies room and Letty started talking to her baby girl. "Mommy is so tired, Nina. I'm trying to think where we're going to go now. We can't go to Auntie Mia's house. I'm sure those bad men haven't forgotten your mama yet."

She smiled at her baby. Caterina smiled back at her mother. She was so cute smiling back up at her, with no teeth in her little mouth. Nina looked as happy as always.

"You are strong like mommy, aren't you? We'll be ok baby…you'll see…" Letty cooed to her baby.

Letty laid out a receiving blanket onto the counter by the sink and took Caterina out of her car seat and lay the little girl down. She changed her dirty diaper, and placed the soiled diaper into the garbage can beside the sink.

As she was cleaning her baby and getting a new diaper from the backpack, a woman entered the ladies room and smiled at Letty and said. "Hello!"

"Hi." Letty replied, without looking at the woman. She was focused on getting Nina's new diaper in place.

"She's so adorable!" The woman said as she watched Letty with her baby for a few moments.

"She really is a beautiful baby." The woman said again and this time she touched Nina's little cheeks with her fingertips. Letty didn't like it and politely, but seriously said. "Please don't touch my baby."

"Oh, sure. I'm so sorry!" The woman replied. "But you really do have a beautiful daughter."

Letty forced a smile and disassembled Caterina's car seat, because she wanted to carry her in her arms.

"She has her father's eyes." The woman suddenly said and Letty felt her heart accelerate.

Letty hurriedly put the disassembled seat into the backpack and held Nina tightly against her chest. She looked suspiciously at the woman and said. "Who are you?"

"I'm nobody." The woman replied. "Just take care of your baby, _Chica!"_

Letty was contemplating kicking the woman's ass to get some information out of her, but just then a group of noisy teenagers entered the ladies room. The woman took advantage of this distraction and quickly disappeared.

Letty was terrified now. She quickly placed her backpack on her shoulders, grabbed her suitcase and rocked Caterina in her arms she left the ladies room and then the airport terminal.

Out on the sidewalk she nervously looked around. She was afraid now that she would be followed, but nobody seemed to be paying attention to her.

Even so she needed to leave immediately and there was only one place that she could go and be safe.

"Taxi!" She shouted holding Caterina tight, as she dragged her heavy suitcase down the sidewalk.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Mia arrived at The Police Morgue in L.A., she felt her stomach grow weak from the thought of death there… even before Brian showed her the body.

Brian took Mia into a small room. In front of the door stood a short agent with an irritating attitude. He was dressed in an old fashioned black suit.

Brian went over and talked to him. "Stasiak! This is Ms. Mia Toretto. She came to identify the body of Leticia Ortiz."

"Hello, Ms. Toretto. I'm agent Michael Stasiak. Please, follow me." Stasiak began to lead Mia into the next room.

"Wait! I'm going with you." Brian announced.

"Ï don't think your presence is necessary, O'Connor. Unless Ms. Toretto wants you to join us?" Stasiak stated as he looked over at Mia.

"No. It's not necessary." Mia said as she avoided Brian's gaze and proceeded to follow Stasiak into the room.

The agent took Mia to a glass window that had blinds that were closed from the inside. "Are you ready?" He asked. Mia nodded and nervously said yes.

Stasiak pressed a button on the wall and said. "You can raise the blinds now."

Mia placed her right hand over her mouth and tried not to cry when she saw the state of the dead body on the table.

The agent on the other side had just lowered the top of the sheet that was covering the body. Yes, there was definitely a similarity between that woman and Letty! But Mia couldn't be sure it _was_ Letty.

"Can I tell him to cover the body now?" Stasiak asked after a few minutes of Mia looking at the dead body.

"Please!" Mia said feeling uncomfortable.

She quickly left the room. When she saw Brian waiting for her just outside of the door, she fell into his arms and let him hold her. Brian hung on to Mia and caressed her dark hair.

"It's Letty?" Brian asked Mia and she shook her head negatively.

"It looks like her… but I can't believe she's dead!" Mia cried.

Stasiak went to talk to them. Mia wiped her tears and asked him. "How long has she been dead?"

"Two or three weeks at most." Stasiak replied. "We tried to identify her by fingerprints, but you know the condition of the body made it impossible."

"How did she die?" Mia quietly asked.

"Mia! You don't need to know the details!" Brian protested.

"Yes I do, Brian!" Mia said. He gave in and sighed.

"She was murdered. Shot. She was probably already dead when the killer threw her body into the river." Stasiak explained.

Letty had been in Los Angeles? Why hadn't she called her, Mia thought? What about the baby? Where was the baby!

"Even if you positively identify the body…" Stasiak explained to Mia. "We still need you to find her family. They need to be informed. She was a murder victim…so we still need to do an autopsy. The FBI needs to be 100% sure that the body is that of Miss Leticia Ortiz."

"Letty didn't have any family. Just me and my brother." Mia explained. "She had godparents but she hadn't talked to them in years. I don't even know if they live at the same address."

"Well, maybe…" Stasiak started to say but Brian stopped him.

"Stasiak, we can do this later. The FBI can locate her godparents, so Mia can go home now…"

"O'Conner! We've been on this case for too damn long. We need answers! Our hands are tied, so Ms. Toretto you must…" Stasiak insisted.

"You're an insensitive Son Of a Bitch!" Brian yelled but Mia interrupted him.

"Agent Stasiak? Do you think if Letty`s godparents can't be found, then you could release her body to me? I'm her only family now." Mia asked.

"Yes." He said. "If I don't find them in two days you can sign for the body."

Mia bit her lower lip and Brian knew this meant she was going to say something important.

"Maybe it's not her…" She finally said.

"How would we know for sure?" Brian asked. "You saw the body. I told you we found her near the car that Letty had been driving."

"Agent Stasiak." Mia addressed him again. "Could an autopsy determine if she gave birth?"

"What?" Brian curiously asked.

"Yes. An autopsy could determine that." Stasiak answered.

"So maybe it's not her!" Mia insisted. "Letty was pregnant, Brian."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The music was playing loud inside of the garage, but it was the only way that Vince could work. He was excited that he'd brought in Harry's new carburetor and blower. This combined with the latest generation of technology would improve the performance of his old car.

In a few weeks, he was going to drive in a big race in the desert. He was looking forward to seeing Hector and Edwin's faces when they saw his new modifications.

"Hey Vince!" One of his buddies called from the garage. He was a quiet guy but he knew a lot about cars. His name was Tyler.

"What the f*ck is going on, Tyler? Don't you see I'm busy?" Vince snapped at him.

Tyler turned down the volume on the stereo. Vince got angry.

"Damn it, Tyler! I told you not to touch my stereo, man! I'm working here!" Vince shouted again.

"Dude! There's a chick wanting to talk to you outside." Tyler said.

"Chick?" Vince asked excited. "Is it Silicon Susie?"

Tyler smiled and shook his head no and Vince dropped his tools on the floor and said. "Look man, I'm going to talk to this girl but if you're trying to fool me… I'll kick your ass!"

Vince went outside to see who the girl was that wanted to talk to him, but before he left he raised his arms up in the air and smelled himself to make sure he smelt ok.

He saw her waiting for him near the garage door. Her back was to him. She had long dark hair and a gorgeous body. She was wearing tight pants…the kind Vince liked.

"_Nice ass_!" Vince said to himself before talking to the girl. "Hey, _Sweetie_! You want to talk to ol' Vinceman?" He drawled but was in shock when the girl turned around and looked at him.

"Hey Vin!" Letty said as she cradled a tiny baby in her arms.

"_What the hell…!"_ Vince had no words as he stared in silent shock at seeing Letty, after a year, standing in his garage holding a baby.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There was hope. Slim… but _hope!_

There was no guarantee, Mia thought after Brian took her home. He asked if he could do anything for her. Mia just make him promise to call her, if they couldn't locate Letty`s godparents.

She was still pretty shaken up about the day's events. When she returned home, all she just wanted to do was take a hot shower, and try to forget about the bad feeling of being in a morgue. Then she'd take something for her headache and try to get some sleep…if that was even possible!

However, the sound of someone in the kitchen made her change her plans. For a moment she thought it could be Letty looking for fried chicken in the fridge and then the whole nightmare would be over… but it wasn't Letty who was there.

It was Dominic.

"Hey! Where's the fried chicken, Mia?" Dom asked when he saw her.

"Dom!" Mia gasped and ran to hug her brother.

Dominic held her against his strong chest and rocked her like she was a child for a few moments. "Look at you!" He said with a smirk. "You're beautiful! You're all grown up now!"

Mia smiled back but her eyes were still sad. Dom noticed this and joked. "What happened? I thought you'd be happy to see me. I swear I didn't bring you too much laundry to wash."

Mia decided to tell him the truth and said. "Dom. I just came from the morgue."

"What you were doing at the morgue?" Dominic asked suspiciously.

Mia paused for a moment and then finally said. "They called me to identify Letty`s body. They say she was murdered."

_**To be continued…**_


	9. The Furious Toretto

Chapter 9

**The Furious Toretto**

"What the hell are you talking about, Mia?" Dominic's voice boomed like thunder after she told him about the possibility of Letty being dead.

"It's true…" Mia said in a trembling voice. "Brian came here to tell me…"

"What the hell does O'Conner have to do with this?" Dom screamed.

Mia swallowed hard. She knew that it wasn't a good idea to tell her brother the truth this way. She wanted to spare his feelings…the feelings that she knew he had for Letty, but she also wanted to tell him the bad news and rid herself of the heavy burden.

"Just spill the beans, Mia!" Dom said with forced control. This time he was calm but Mia knew that there was still a volcano boiling inside of him, waiting to explode. "What does Brian O'Conner have to do with any of this?"

"Letty went to see Brian a year ago… to help clear your name…and in exchange…. he asked her to help the FBI catch a drug dealer." Mia nervously stammered.

Dominic's eyes became wide and dark, and for the first time in her life, Mia feared the fury of her brother. "What did she have to do?"

"He told me… he had her infiltrate the drug dealer's organization as a driver… but it seems something went wrong…terribly wrong… and… Letty disappeared… a year ago!" Mia explained.

"Did you know about this when I called you?" Dominic asked her with clenched fists.

"Of course I didn't, Dom!" Mia quickly replied. "I didn't know anything about it. I told you the truth on the phone. The last time that I saw Letty, she told me that she had to leave town… that she'd gotten involved with the wrong guys…and that's all I needed to know. I never heard from her again." Mia said.

"O' Conner knew where she was!" Dominic accused.

"No Dom, he didn't know where she was until this morning when the police found her car in the river… and a woman's body…" Mia defended Brian.

"I need to see her!" Dom said trying hard to contain his anger.

"Dom… I went to identify the body. It really looked like her… but I'm not sure! You know you can't go there! The police still want you." Mia said worried.

"F*ck the police!" Dom yelled. "I need to see this body…if it's her… I'd know!"

At that moment, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Dom and Mia both became silent, until they heard the sound of Brian's voice saying. "Mia, it's me! Open the door. We need to talk. I know this is hard for you!"

"Go away Brian! We can talk later." Mia shouted through the door. "This isn't a good time!"

"Please Mia!" Brian insisted. "I decided to come back because I have something to tell you that I couldn't before. Please let me in."

"Tell him you'll talk to him." Dominic demanded. Mia shook her head.

"Do it, Mia!" Dominic insisted. "This _Son of a Bitch_ is going to give me an explanation about all of this b*llshit!"

"Mia!" Brian pounded on the door a few more times.

Mia had tears in her eyes as she walked to the door and opened it for Brian. She heard Dominic say. "O'Conner will die a slow and painful death!"

Mia unlocked the door and Brian entered the house, but he didn't see Dom hiding behind the door. He just saw Mia crying.

"Mia…" Brian began in a soothing voice. "Please don't cry… what I have to tell you about Letty might bring you hope…"

Brian didn't get the chance to say anything more because he was grabbed suddenly from behind. Dom's powerful arms grabbed Brian around his neck, and he dragged Brian into the living room like he was a rag doll.

"No, Dom! Stop!" Mia cried desperately but Dom didn't listen to her.

Brian was choking…gasping for air as he tried to speak to Dom. He tried to kick at Dom, to defend himself and gasped. "Dom…let… me… explain…!"

Dom threw Brian down onto the couch, breaking some of Mia's ornaments on the coffee table. Brian coughed when Dom released the grip on his neck slightly. Brian gasped for air and then tried to speak. "Dom, listen to me…"

Dom punched Brian hard in the face, splitting open his lips. Now Brian's face was covered with blood.

"You used Letty! You f*cking Son of a Bitch! Now she's dead and it's all your fault!" Dom screamed at him and tightened his hands around Brian's throat again.

"She… asked…me to....help…you!" Brian fought for air.

Dominic punched Brian in the face again, this time almost breaking his nose. If Dom continued to hit him like that, Brian would be unconscious soon.

Mia grasped Dominic's arm and tried to pull him off of Brian, but Dom pushed her away and she fell against the opposite couch. Even so, he didn`t hurt her. She knew he would never hurt her but she was sure that he was about to kill Brian.

"Dominic stop it! Stop it!" She screamed

Dom continued to massacre Brian with his fists but he quickly stopped with his fist in mid air when Brian choked out. "Maybe she's not dead, Dom!" Mia rose from the couch to hear what Brian had to say.

"That`s what I was coming to tell you, Mia!" Brian spit blood out onto the floor. "I'm not allowed to share this information with anyone, but I thought it was wrong to hide it from you Mia… or you…Dom." Brian said in a weak voice.

"Mia go! Get him some water!" Dom demanded. She ran into the kitchen and hurried back with a glass of water and a cold compress for Brian's face.

"I'm listening… and if I don`t like what I hear then you're a dead man, O`Connor!" Dom growled.

With Mia's help, Brian swallowed some water with difficulty. She sat next to him on the couch and wiped the blood from his face with the cold compress. He winced in pain when she touched his injuries.

"The last time I talked with Letty, she told me that she had to quit…that things had changed… and she wanted out. She said she had to leave Los Angeles. I looked for her but I couldn`t find her. She just disappeared." He said between grimaces of pain.

Brian drank another sip of water and continued. "This is what I came back to tell you. A few days later there, was a shooting at LAX. The security cameras recorded everything. It took a while for the police to make the connection between this shooting and Letty`s disappearance."

"The cameras show an unidentified woman, resembling Letty, being chased and shot at, inside the airport…by… probably one of Braga`s men." He finished and looked over at Dom.

The name instantly attracted Dom's attention. It was the same name of the person who had sent him that package in The Dominican.

"But we couldn`t determine if she'd boarded a plane… or escaped from the men at the airport…or… if they got her…" Brian looked into Mia's eyes and then lowered his own eyes to the floor.

"We retrieved the passenger manifests from the airlines flying that day, but there wasn't any Leticia Ortiz on any flight that day… or any day after that. We checked the possibility of her using an alias….but the trail went cold." Brian finally said.

"Was there a Maria Fernandez?" Mia asked suddenly.

"Maria Fernandez?" Brian replied.

"It was the fake name that she used on her documents when she came to meet me in The Dominican Republic." Dominic explained. "If she was running, she'd never use her real name. My girl is very smart"

"I never knew that." Brian said. "Letty never told me."

"Because she didn`t trust you." Dominic said. "You know what? She was right not to trust you, because you pulled her right down into your own f*cking mess! But you haven't told me, yet, why you think there's a chance that she might be alive. Mia told me you have a body lying in the morgue!"

Brian looked over at Mia and said. "If she left the country using a fake name, like you suggested, then we still have hope that she's alive. That means that the body in the morgue, the one that we pulled from the river, isn't Letty's. She could have sold the Plymouth… for cash… to leave the country."

"I don't think she sold the car." Mia quietly said.

"Why?" Brian asked.

"Because Letty used the money that Dom had left her, from his time… in The Dominican. She asked me to withdraw that money from her bank account." Mia revealed.

"How come?" Dominic asked, realizing that Mia knew more about Letty's disappearance than she was telling him.

"Letty called me when she was in trouble. She was using the name Maria Fernandez." Mia nervously said. "She asked me to get the money… to pay for her medical expenses. She was in the hospital."

"In the hospital?" Dom yelled and Mia asked him to calm down.

"She'd suffered a terrible car accident. She had a broken arm and was all cut up…she looked a mess, but she was going to be ok. But…she'd lost the Plymouth. Now I know why!" Mia stated.

"It can't be true!" Brian said. "According to police reports, the body pulled from the water near the car, had only been dead for about two or three weeks… and if you say that she had an accident with the Plymouth a year ago…"

"It's not her!" Dom concluded feeling a little bit of relief.

"Mia… you told me this morning at the morgue that there might be another way to prove that the body wasn't Letty's…something that could give us hope that Letty is alive." Brian encouraged Mia to explain things to him.

Dom focused his complete attention towards Mia now and said. "What the hell is he talking about, Mia?"

"You haven't told him yet, Mia?" Brian said.

Both men were looking at Mia now, waiting for her answer. Again, she had no choice and told her brother the truth. "There's something about Letty that you don't know…something that she didn't want anyone to know."

"Tell me, Mia!" Dom was becoming desperate now.

"Dom… Letty was pregnant… with your child." Mia simply blurted it out.

Dominic was in shock. "What the fu*ck are you talking about, Mia?"

Mia continued talking. "When Letty was living with me a year ago, I noticed that she didn't seem well. She was sick, she couldn't eat… and she slept a lot. I suspected that she was pregnant and before she left the hospital, she told me the truth…she _was_."

Dom looked icily over at Brian. "Did you know that she was pregnant?"

"No!" Brian quickly answered. "I swear I didn't know, Dom… if I knew that she was pregnant, I never would have asked her to help me. You have to believe me, man!"

"Brian's telling the truth." Mia said. "Letty wasn't even sure she was pregnant at first. I confronted her about it. When she knew for sure that she was pregnant in the hospital, she asked me not to tell _anyone_, including _you._ She said that you made your choice when you decided to leave her in The Dominican Republic."

Those words tore at Dom's heart, especially now that he'd discovered that he'd abandoned her when she was pregnant! He'd have never left her if he knew she was expecting a baby! He felt like sh*t knowing that he'd left her alone with that kind of responsibility.

What about now? If Letty was still alive…then the baby would have been born already… how old would his son or daughter be, now?

What if the body in the morgue really was Letty's? Then she'd have been murdered only two or three weeks ago. Where was the baby … if its mother was dead?

Or… did she lose the baby before it was born? Dom knew that Letty would never have had an abortion…but a serious car wreck could have caused her serious problems during her pregnancy!

Dom was going crazy thinking about all of these scenarios!

"I need to see the body!" Dom announced. He needed to be sure that it was Letty lying there in that morgue. If it was her….he'd know. One way or another, he needed to know, then he could decide what do next.

But before Brian could give him his answer, Mia insisted. "Dom, it's better we wait for the results of the autopsy…!"

"I'm talking to O'Conner, Mia!" Dom angrily snapped. "Brian, I need to see the body! I know Letty better than anyone and I'd know if it's her lying in that damn morgue! So get me in there now!"

Brian nodded. He couldn't deny Dominic's request. "I'll get you in, Dom." Brian promised. "But we'll need Mia's help."

"I'll do whatever you want." Mia said. She knew that Dom would go anyway, so she knew that she had to go to keep him out of trouble.

xxxxxxxx

Vince opened the bedroom door and Letty peeked inside. The place was a disaster! There were empty beer bottles on the floor, dirty sheets on the bed; clothes were strewn all around the room and there were many empty potato chip packages on the dresser.

Normally, Vince wouldn't give a damn about the mess in his room. The girls he brought there didn't care much about the mess, but having Letty there with her child was totally different.

"Yeah, I know the room… it's a little messy but I can fix it!" Vince said. "I just don't know where to start." He confessed after thinking about it for a few seconds.

"If you hold Nina for a few minutes for me, then I can do this faster than you." Letty said as she handed Nina over to Vince. "Here. Take her!" Letty said.

"Me?" Vince seemed shocked with her suggestion. "Letty, I've never held a baby before!"

"Then it's time to learn!" Letty said giving the baby to him. Vince held the little girl with great difficultly.

"Letty, please take her! I feel I'm going to let her fall…" He nervously said.

"No, you won't!" She assured. "Just hold her gently like this… support her head…okay…you're fine now!" Letty smiled as she showed him how to hold the baby.

"Ok. I think I got it now!" Vince nervously said but he remained as still as a statue. He was afraid to move and risk dropping the baby. He stared into her dark little eyes.

Caterina looked back up at him, and then she made a strange face, and began to whimper.

"Damn it, Letty! She's crying! What do I do?" He desperately asked. "She sounds like a bad muffler…about to explode."

Letty didn't seem worried and simply said. "Just rock her a little!" She grabbed a garbage bag and began to pick up the trash from the bedroom.

Vince tried to rock her but Nina cried louder. "Letty! For the love of God…I don't know what to do!"

"Just talk to her, Vince! She's crying because she doesn't know you, yet. But you can calm her down. Make her trust you." Letty explained as she quickly continued to clean up the room.

"Right!" Vince nervously said. "So baby, do you like cars?" He asked Nina. The truth is he didn't know what to say to a little baby.

Letty held in her laughter and cleaned up the room as fast as she could because she knew that her baby could cry longer than it would take Vince to learn to talk to her baby.

"She hates me, Letty. Dom's child hates me!" Vince said, devastated. Letty finished putting the garbage bags outside of the room. "She isn't interested in knowing that I've been her father's best friend since third grade."

"Don't take it personally, man!" Letty said after she washed her hands. "She's just tired… and hungry." She took the baby out of Vince's arms and smiled as she sweetly said. "Shhh…you can stop crying now, baby girl… mama's got you…"

Caterina whined for a few seconds more as Letty rocked her and talked to her in a sweet voice. She soon calmed down and became quiet and relaxed in her mother's arms.

"Wow! How did you do that?" Vince asked. He was impressed with Letty's ability to calm the baby.

"It's just practice." Letty confidently answered. "But _please_ don't ask me how the first few days after she was born. I thought I was going to go insane before I learned to calm down her."

"It's so weird to see you as a mommy rocking your baby…I've never thought about you this way before. How did this happen?" Vince smiled at them both.

"Well…" Letty frowned. "I think it happens when you have sex… and Dom and I used to have sex a lot!" She smirked.

Vince laughed. "Oh, I know!" He said. "But you know what I mean…I don't know…did you want to get pregnant or something?"

"Vince…" Letty said patiently. "I know sometimes it's hard for you to understand certain things, but have you ever heard before that some things are just none of your business?"

"Ok, got it!" He said and he smiled, again.

Caterina started to whimper again and Letty kissed her soft dark hair and whispered. "Mommy is here to take care of you. Are you hungry, sweetie?"

"Well, I think I gave the rest of the milk in the fridge to the cat… but does she like coke?" Vince offered.

Letty rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it, Vince. I can feed her." Letty said as she sat up in bed with Nina. Then she began to unbutton the first button of her black shirt.

Vince immediately blushed and said. "Alright! So… I'm going to call Leon…you know? I, uh…want to tell him you're here and we'll figure out a way to help you…"

Letty opened the second button and the top part of her breast was revealed. She was having fun watching Vince's face. He seemed like he was going panic or faint or something.

"You can stay here for… uh…. as long as you want with…" Vince said.

"Nina!" Letty finished his sentence.

"Yes! Nina. Right. You don't have to worry about nothing, Let. Leon and I… we'll take care of you both." He walked over to the door. "I'll be outside… so if you need something just call me…because if I stay here and Dom knows that I saw your boobs…" Vince stammered.

Letty opened the third button of her shirt but Vince turned around and quickly left the room. She was laughing and allowed herself to relax a bit after her long trip and the strange meeting with the woman at the airport. She hadn't forgotten about that, yet.

She grabbed a pillow and placed it behind her back to get more comfortable. Nina was screaming again looking for her mother's breast while Letty was opening her bra.

"Easy, _m'hija_!" She calmly said in a sweet voice, as she held Nina close to her body and nursed her. The baby calmed down, immediately.

"Now we're in LA, _mi amor_. We'll be safe here with Uncle Vince… even if he is a little bit lazy sometimes. Uncle Vince and Uncle Leon will both help us find your papa… and then we'll be together again. I promise you, _corazón._ Mommy loves you very much!" Letty smiled.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Brian parked his car in the basement of the parkade of the Police Morgue. Mia was uncomfortable sitting beside him in the car. She was dressed as a doctor and wore a wig that hid her long dark hair.

"Brian, this is the dumbest plan I've ever heard of. Do you really think that they'll believe I'm a pathologist? I'm still in medical school for God's sake!"

"Do you have a better idea?" Brian asked as he looked over at her and inspected her disguise.

"I was already here earlier today! Don't you think they'll recognize me… even with this ridiculous outfit on?" Mia nervously asked.

"Mia, the people who work here in the afternoon aren't the same people that work here at night. Besides this is the perfect time. There's just one person at reception. So don't worry. Dom told me he just needed five minutes in there." Brian explained.

Brian grabbed his phone and called Dominic. Dom had been waiting outside of the building dressed as a maintenance employee. Brian had managed to _borrow_ the clothes from a friend who worked in the morgue.

"Dom, we're going in. You wait ten minutes and then go to the third floor. Tell Travis, the receptionist that Dr. Elizabeth Forrester is calling for you in sector B."

"God help us!" Mia said with a sigh as they got out of the car.

They entered the building and got on the elevator to the third floor. When they arrived, Travis, the receptionist for the evening shift spoke to Brian. "Hello, Agent O'Conner." Travis looked curiously at Brian because his face was cut and bruised from Dominic's punches.

"Hello, Travis. This is Dr. Elizabeth Forrester. She's come to examine body 121A, in sector B before the autopsy that's scheduled for tomorrow morning."

"I don't know anything about that." He said as he checked through some documents on his desk.

"They must have forgotten to tell you. You know, at this hour people are more worried about getting their sleep." Brian said pretending to be angry about the supposed mistake. "This is urgent, Travis. Doctor Forrester needs to see the body so we can continue with our investigation."

"Well, I can let you and the doctor in but you'll have to sign…" Travis began.

"Sure. I'll sign." Brian cut him off as he looked for a pen inside his own jacket pocket.

Travis watched him sign the document but he was still staring up at Brian's face. Mia realized this and sighed. Travis was probably going to ask Brian why his face looked the way it did.

"What happened to your face, Agent O'Connor?" Travis finally asked, just like Mia thought he would.

"I was injured in the line of duty." Brian answered without hesitation. "I was chasing a junkie. You know how these guys react when they don't have their shit."

Travis nodded. He agreed with Brian. "Yeah. Sure. Those guys can get crazy."

Travis continued to talk a little bit more about junkies and their needs before he finally let them enter Sector B. Mia was getting worried about Dom waiting outside.

Before they left the reception area, Brian told Travis. "I called a maintenance worker to come here to help Doctor Forrester with some things. He should be arriving any minute now. Let him pass, ok Travis? His name is Roberto Baggi."

"Okay." Travis agreed. Brian and Mia entered the corridor that led to where the body was kept. They'd have to act fast, before someone realized what they are doing.

As planned, Dom took the elevator to the third floor ten minutes later. He didn't have any problem getting into the building, but he was ready if someone tried to stop him.

Dom was trying to concentrate on Brian's plan. He was there to do what he needed to do and then get the hell out as quickly as he could, but he started to panic thinking about the possibility of seeing the woman that he loved dead.

What if that body really was Letty's? He'd never forgive himself!

He didn't know how he would he react, if she really was dead. Dom was afraid that he'd lose it, that he'd go crazy with anger and remorse and destroy the entire morgue. But there was one thing he was sure of… if the body really was Letty…then he'd kill who ever was responsible!

Dom hadn't shown Mia the package that he'd received in The Dominican, yet, but he'd do this as soon as they got back home.

"Are you ready, Dom?" Brian asked as they entered the room and stopped in front of the window.

"Yes. I'm ready." He said as he watched the surreal image through the window.

_**Los Angeles, 1995**_

No, Dominic wasn't ready for this situation. Although, he had to admit, it was one of the most exciting moments of his entire life.

He'd never felt this way before… even after he won his first race. Even so, he knew he had to be careful. However his treacherous body was saying don't waist any more time… go ahead…do it right now.

"Letty, please, get dressed!" He pleaded.

Dominic was just twenty years old and he was trying to be the man his father expected him to be. It didn't matter that he was all grown up. He was still living in his father's house and he had to follow his father's rules.

If Mr. Toretto caught him in his bedroom with Letty almost naked, the way she was now, he'd be in deep trouble! Letty was only sixteen, and she was the goddaughter of his father's best friend.

It was true… he couldn't take his eyes off of her when they were working in the garage, but Dominic knew that he needed to do the right thing… instead to listening his hormones.

"_Oh shit, Dominic! Don't look at me like that! This wasn't the reaction that I was expecting from you_…_!_" She said as she threatened to take off her bra, although the black lace wasn't hiding much of her perfect, delicate breasts.

It was Mia's fifteenth birthday. A very special day in the Toretto household and Old Man Toretto had decided to let the kids have a party without parental supervision, for the first time ever.

Of course there had been other times but Dom's wasn't about to let his dad know about any of those other times.

As far as Dom's dad knew, this was the first _party without parents_ night, so he went to play cards with his old friend Carlos, Letty`s godfather, and some other friends.

The party was going well. Everyone was having fun. There was loud music, lots of guys and girls partying… and a lot of corona.

Dominic was having fun himself until Letty arrived at the party with Vince. She looked different that night. Letty had never been the girlie girl type, unlike Mia and her friends.

For many years, Dom had looked at Letty like she was his buddy… a buddy that he could hang out with. Never as a woman, although he always thought that she was beautiful.

However, that night she had surprised him by taking so long to come in the party, and then arriving with Vince. Vince was Dom's best friend, but Dom thought he was an asshole for many reasons.

Besides arriving with Vince, there was Letty`s outfit. Dom had never seen her dress this way before… so incredibly sexy. She was wearing a gray top that was exposing her belly button, a short black leather skirt and a provocative pair of black boots.

Letty wore makeup and her long hair was left loose and fell around her shoulders. The makeup was a little too much for a girl her age, but Dom appreciated it anyway.

Dom couldn't understand the jealousy he felt watching her talking and dancing with Vince most of the night. Dom became upset. However, he decided not to say anything to Letty, even when she started to drink too much beer.

This party sucks Dom suddenly thought. He grabbed the keys for his Chevelle that his dad had given him for his eighteenth birthday. Dom drove around the streets of the city until very late and when he came back home the party was over. His father wasn't home, yet.

Everything was quiet inside the house. Nothing unusual for after a party. The house was clean, probably because Mia had cleaned the place up before she went to bed.

Vince was snoring on the couch. His mouth was open and he was drooling on the couch cushions. At least he didn't go home with Letty, Dom thought.

Dom went upstairs. Mia should be sleeping by now. He was almost at his bedroom door when he noticed the lamp in his father's room was turned on.

"Dad? Are you there?" He asked as he walked into the room. But it wasn't his father who was there. It was Letty. She was lying on the bed.

"I think…" She had a little sob. "I drank too much and I couldn't find your room!"

"Letty, what the hell are you still doing here? I'll take you home right now!" Dom said.

"No, Dom…I…" Letty stammered. She tried to get off of the bed but she was too dizzy. As she attempted to sit up on the bed and then stand, her leather skirt shifted up to reveal her black panties underneath.

Dom quickly averted his eyes and said. "You need a coffee before you go, girl, because if your godfather sees you like this…"

"Where the fu*ck you have been?" Letty asked. "You disappeared from the party!"

"I went for a ride." Dom said.

"You are a f*cking idiot! The dumbest guy I've ever met!" Letty mumbled.

"Damn it, Letty! Why are you telling me this shit?" Dom snapped.

"Don't you see?" She said as she began to unbutton the buttons on her gray top.

"What are you doing?" Dom asked confused.

"I'm sick of trying to get your attention, Dominic Toretto! You're always hanging out with those bitches that you meet at the races… and that Tran's sister… she's the biggest whore!" Letty said.

"Letty, you're drunk!" Dominic said.

Letty removed her top and threw it on the floor, before she motioned for Dom to come closer to her with her index finger.

"But I'm not taking this sh*t, anymore, do you hear me? I want you, Dom! I've wanted you for a long time now!" Letty explained.

"Jeezuz, Letty! What are you saying? You're only sixteen!" Dom worriedly said.

Letty laughed and lay down in the bed again. She placed her boots on the wooden footboard of the bed in a sensual way, leaving nothing to the imagination.

"Letty, please! Get dressed!" Dom nervously said.

"Oh sh*t, Dominic! Don't look at me like that! This isn't the reaction that I was expecting from you…" Letty sobbed.

Dom knew very well what kind of reaction Letty was expecting from him. Dom wanted to grab her and kiss her. He wanted to forget that she was only sixteen…damnit to hell! But could he do this? His heartbeat accelerated.

Letty had been a constant presence in Dom's life since they were both kids. He'd always loved her in his own special way but he had failed to realize until that moment that she had grown up and had become a beautiful young woman. She wasn't the scrawny, annoying girl who always followed him around and asked a million questions about cars, anymore.

"I'm not a little girl anymore, Dom!" Letty said as if she was reading his mind. "I like you man…and I want to be with you!"

Dom finally came closer to her. Letty knelt on the bed and felt her body tremble when Dom held her in his strong muscular arms. Then his face came closer to hers and he kissed her for the first time.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Letty? Or are you too drunk to realize what you're asking of me?" Dom whispered to her.

Letty smiled up at him and touched his lips with her fingers, slowly, experiencing the softness of them. "I always wondered about the taste of your lips…" Letty whispered to him.

Dom could feel himself starting to lose control. He grabbed her firmly with his strong hands, and pulled her body hard against his. He passionately kissed her and inserted his tongue inside of her mouth, tasting the sweetness that was Letty.

Dom lay down on top of her in the bed. He didn't want to think about anything else at that moment. He only wanted to feel his body against hers, touch her and discover all of her secrets.

"Are you nervous?" Dom asked nibbling on her ear.

"No." She sighed with pleasure. "Are you?"

Dom chuckled as his hands caressed her breasts over her bra, before gently moving them under the lace to touch her soft naked skin. Letty moaned as he played with her nipples with his thumb.

Letty sat up in bed and unfastened the clasp of her bra and removed it. Dominic gently pushed her down in the bed again and caressed her dark hair. He took one breast into his mouth and gently nibbled on her nipple, sending shivers of pleasure through Letty's body.

"Dom…" She moaned.

"If my dad catches us… I'm a dead man…" He said as he touched her breasts. Letty laughed softly and touched his face and said. "Are you sure that you don't want to take the risk, _Papi?_"

"I wouldn't mind if my dad caught us and punished me…by making me fix cars for him for free …forever… because I'd have you…" Dom whispered.

Dom's hands touched her thighs and slid between her legs. Letty sighed and raised her hips up towards him. Dom pulled the elastic of her panties to the side. He was dying to touch her. When his fingers found her moist intimacy, Letty turned her head into the pillow and gasped. She closed her eyes and smiled.

Dom removed his shirt and kissed her on her lips. He felt Letty's hands trying to take off his pants. He quickly undid the button of his jeans and pulled the zipper down.

Dom couldn't believe that he was going to make love to Letty. He continued to touch the most intimate part of her with his fingers, slowly inserting one deeper and deeper inside. Letty felt a dull ache but she didn't complain. She kissed Dom's neck and caressed his chest with her breasts.

Dom lifted one of Letty's legs and positioned himself between her thighs. He began to penetrate her gently and slowly. He didn't want hurt her.

"Ahhh…Dom" Letty cried out his name, she was feeling so excited about what they were doing.

"_Oh, God, Letty_!" Dom moaned at the feeling of how warm and moist she was.

Dom pushed inside of her a little harder, making her cry out when her virginity was broken. Dom had placed himself entirely in Letty's small and perfect body. He was in heaven.

"Are you okay, _Baby_?" He asked as he worriedly looked into her eyes. She smiled and quickly nodded and relaxed in his arms. He kissed her passionately as he moved in and out of her body. They didn't have much time… his father would probably be home soon.

Letty loved feeling Dom so close to her…inside of her! It was better than she'd thought it could ever possibly be. She felt so safe in his arms.

During their lovemaking, Dom noticed a pretty little freckle on her right breast, close to her nipple. He kissed the spot and licked her erect nipple.

Letty moaned a little louder as her orgasm came, and she shuddered with pleasure in Dom's arms. Letty's soft hair caressed Dom's face and his orgasm followed soon after hers as he pushed his hips deep against hers.

"Dom?" They heard footsteps on the stairs at that moment. It was Mr. Toretto coming back from his poker game.

"Oh shit! It's my father!" Dom panicked as he immediately rolled away from Letty.

"Damn it, Dom? What are we going to do?" She asked him while she adjusted her skirt. "Where's my bra?"

"I can't find it!" Dom desperately said.

_**Present day.**_

_  
_"Are you ready, Dom?" Brian asked as they entered the room and stood in front of the window.

"Yes. I'm ready!" He said watching the surreal image unfold through the glass.

Dom looked at the dead body through the window. The woman had olive skin and dark hair. She definitely resembled Letty.

"Could you ask him to lower the sheet a little more?" Dom asked.

"Are you sure?" Brian asked.

"Please!" Dom insisted and Brian asked the man on the other side of the window to lower the sheet more. The man lowered the sheet to the body's waste line.

Dom didn't hesitate and announced. "It's not her!"

_**To be continued…**_


	10. Where is Letty?

**?**

**Thank you very much for the reviews! All of them!**

**Chapter 10 - Where is Letty?**

_**Los Angeles, 1995**_

Tony Toretto returned home very late from his poker game that night. He was exhausted, but exhilarated because he'd won several hands of poker…and a lot of money from his friends that evening.

Tony smiled as he remembered their shocked faces as he laid his winning cards down. _A_ _full house_! He'd won another hand…and all of the money in the pot on the table. Carlos vowed to win his money back from Tony the next time that they played. Tony had no doubt that he would win again, next time.

Toretto was happy to see everything cleaned up and in order when he arrived at home. It didn't even seem that there had been a party there that night. He knew that Mia was responsible for this and smiled.

Tony noticed that Vince was asleep on the couch. Tony expected this and he really didn't mind if Vince stayed there. He liked Vince. The boy had been Dominic's best friend, since childhood. He'd rather the kid stay there than risk trying to get home after a night of drinking and partying, anyway.

Tony went upstairs, looking forward to crawling into his bed and getting a good nights sleep, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard nervous voices coming from inside of his room.

Tony didn't recognize the voices until he came closer to the door. Soon, he had no doubt about who was in that room.

Tony slowly opened the door and his eyes widened in shock when he saw his son, Dominic, desperately trying to button up Letty's shirt as she looked desperately at the door. Tony could see the panic in her face.

"_Dad…!"_ Dom started to say but he paused…he wasn't sure what to say. Tony didn't give him a chance to finish. "I want you both downstairs in five minutes!" Tony promptly turned around and left them alone in the room and closed the door.

Dom finally finished buttoning Letty's top. Undressing her was easy, but helping her to get her clothes back on... under so much pressure was proving almost impossible.

"Dom, what are we going to tell him?" Letty worriedly asked.

"I don't know!" Dom replied as he pulled his own shirt back on.

Letty nervously tried to put her hair back in place. Dom had really messed Letty's hair up with his hands. "We have to figure something out quick, Dom!" Letty's voice was trembling now. "I'm sure he's figured out what happened here!"

"Of course he knows, Letty!" Dom yelled at her.

"So what are we going to say?" She insisted.

"Damn it, Letty! I don't have any _f*cking_ idea what we're going to say to him! You started it anyway!" Dom snapped.

Letty looked at him with fury in her eyes and shouted. "If you don't want me to kick your ass right now, Dominic Toretto, then you better not talk to me like that again! You understand me? Yes, I wanted to f*ck you… but you wanted to f*ck me, too! So are you going to stand there and deny that that you wanted it too, _you bastard_?"

Dom realized how upset she was. He also noticed that she had tears in her eyes, even though he knew that she'd never cry in front of him.

"Are you sorry about what we did?" Letty nervously asked. Her lips were trembling. Dom felt a little guilty, but he'd never be sorry.

"No! Never _Mami!"_ Dom quickly said as he pulled her close to him and held her. "You at least had the courage to tell me what I've wanted to tell you for a long time, now, _Baby_."

Dom tenderly kissed her lips. "Everything is going to be alright. If my father wants to kill us…then I swear, _Baby, _we'll die together!"

Letty laughed and relaxed a little. "Ok, he can kill us… but your father better leave something for my godfather… because he'll want to kill you, too! Especially if Mr. Toretto tells him what we did…do you think he'll tell him, Dom?" Letty was getting worried again.

"Our five minutes just ended." Dom quietly said as he held Letty's hand.

They walked down the stairs together in silence. They found Tony sitting at the kitchen table waiting for them. "Sit down now!" He demanded.

Dom and Letty sat down and Tony started his interrogation. "Ok, tell me…did I get home too late to stop you both from committing this madness, or what?"

"Dad! I'm not a damn kid!" Dom tried to defend himself but Tony cut him off.

"That's the reason that I'm so damn disappointed in you, Dominic! You're 20 years old! A grown man! So what the hell were you thinking…. having sex with a sixteen year old girl? And not just any girl…..but Letty! Her godfather is one of my best friends!"

"Mr. Toretto… it wasn't Dom's idea… it was mine!" Letty volunteered, trying to protect Dominic.

"Mmm…I can just imagine!" Tony said doubtfully. "What now? What do you two have to say to me? What…that you couldn't control your damn hormones? And you did in my room of all places! You should both be ashamed of yourselves!"

"Dad, I'm sorry…" Dom sheepishly said.

"This wasn't supposed to have happened Dom…not _anywhere_ under my roof. Not as long as Letty is a teenager and my responsibility. It's our responsibility to take care of her when she's in this house! You should have taken care of her, too, Dominic…. not take advantage of her! _God_! Did you at least remember to protect her?" Tony angrily asked.

Dom couldn't look at his father at that moment, because he'd just realized that he'd had unprotected sex with Letty. He was so excited that he'd totally forgotten about using a condom to protect her.

Tony became even more disappointed with his son. "What about everything I taught you, Dom? Was that just sh*t for you?"

"Of course not, Dad!" Dom snapped.

"You know you'll be responsible for her if she gets pregnant don't you? Letty isn't like those other girls from the track that you sleep around with!" Tony calmly stated.

"Mr. Toretto, please don't talk about me like I'm not here, ok?" Letty said a little embarrassed at being the center of such a conversation.

Dominic held her hand under the table and caressed it to calm her down before he said. "Dad… I really like Letty…I care about her… and like you said I'm a man now… so from now on, Letty and I are officially dating. She's my girl no matter what! _I know_ she's not like those other girls from the races or parties… and I don't need you to remind me about that!"

Letty thought she was going to fall off her chair when Dom said those words. But her reaction wasn't what Dom had been expecting.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Dominic Toretto? What makes you think that I'd want to date you or be _your girl_?" Letty yelled at him as she rose from the table. She promptly left the kitchen and slammed the door behind her as she left the house.

Dominic was surprised with Letty's reaction and immediately ran after her. "Letty, come back here! Where are you going?"

Dominic hadn't taken the time to notice before he ran after an angry Letty, but his father couldn't control his amusement with the couple anymore and burst out into laughter.

Tony knew that this would have happened sooner or later. He'd been watching their passion for each other grow…even before they'd realized it themselves.

_**Present day**_

"It's not her!" Dominic quietly announced with conviction after the curtain was closed. Then he proceeded to leave the room without saying another word. Mia had been waiting outside for them.

"Dom!" Brian called after him. "How can you be so sure? Mia saw the body this morning and she wasn't even sure!"

"Dom….are you saying that it's not her?" Mia hopefully asked when Dom came outside of the room. Dom nodded.

"If you want to go ahead with an autopsy O' Conner, then fine! But I'm telling you that that girl in there _is not_ Letty! I know Letty… I know every little inch of her…and that's not her in there!" Dom stated.

"I've known her since she was a scrawny little ten year old… following me around… pestering me… calling my a name thousand times… Dominic! Dominic! She used to drive me crazy with a million questions about car and engines. That's my Letty! Not that poor girl in that room!" Dom explained.

Brian remained silent and just listened as Dom continued talking. "My girl is unique, Brian. The only mistake that she made was getting involved with you and your ridiculous scheme. I'll find her my way, got it? Let's go, Mia!"

Mia followed Dom, but before they got to the elevator Brian said. "You know she did it for you, right?"

Dom didn't answer him. He just glared at Brian as the elevator door closed between them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Vince cleaned up the rest of the empty beer bottles and empty Chinese Food containers that had accumulated under his kitchen table. He put them all in garbage bags that his neighbor had given him.

Vince had ordered a pizza for himself and Letty. Leon was also coming over soon. Vince had called Leon and told him that Letty was in town and staying at his place, but he failed to mention that she hadn't returned alone. Vince thought that it would be better if his friend discovered this for himself.

When Vince had finished cleaning up the kitchen, he noticed that Letty was standing there, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Sorry, I fell asleep." Letty said.

"The baby is ok?" Vince asked.

"Yeah. She's sleeping." Letty smiled. "She was grumpy because of the new place and the long trip, but she's going to be ok."

"I ordered a pizza and Leon is on his way over." Vince said.

Letty smiled and said. "Thanks, man."

"No worries, girl. I'm glad you're back." Vince smiled back at her. They remained quiet for a few seconds before Vince finally pulled Letty into a big bear hug. Vince wasn't usually an emotional guy, but sometimes he could surprise his friends.

Letty remained quiet in the comfort of Vince's strong arms for a few minutes. It felt so good to be embraced by a friend, especially after everything that had happened to her. She felt like she was home…almost safe.

Vince kissed the top of her head and reluctantly let go her before asking. "What about Dom? Does he know he's a daddy?"

Letty shook her head and sighed. She slumped down into one of the kitchen chairs and said. "I haven't seen him in about a year, Vince. I couldn't find him after you and Leon left the Dominican Republic."

"And you were there all this time… raising your baby alone?" Vince curiously asked.

"Yeah." Letty said. "But I was in LA a few months before she was born. I stayed with Mia for a little while. I didn't even know I was pregnant, yet."

"Why didn't you look us up when you were here? And why did you go back to The Dominican all alone, Let? You should have stayed here with Mia. We would have helped you with the baby." Vince explained.

"I know Vince, thanks….but I came back to L.A. to try to help Dom. I wanted to clear his name…so things could be the way they used to be. So… I called Brian and…" Letty tried to explain.

"You talked to O'Conner? Why the hell would you go and talk to that pr*ck? He's a f*cking cop!" Vince snapped.

"Don't forget that he saved your ass, man! If it wasn't for Brian, you'd be f*cking dead!" Letty yelled.

"Yeah, but he only saved my life so that he could keep f*cking Mia… and in the end he was the one that got screwed because Mia didn't want to talk to him anymore!" Vince said laughing.

"Vince!" Letty snapped losing her patience.

"Okay, okay! I'm not going to talk about that *sshole anymore. Tell me what he said to you when you went to talk to him." Vince had calmed down somewhat.

"He told me that he could clear Dom's name, if I helped him with a case that he was working on with the police. The plan was to infiltrate a big drug trafficker's organization. I'd become a driver for Arturo Braga. Do you know him?" Letty explained.

"_F*ck, Letty!_ I've heard a lot of serious sh*t about this guy. I heard that he's a psycho…a real bad*ss. Let me guess, you managed to become one of his drivers, and in the end you got yourself into big trouble, right?" Vince said.

Letty nodded and said. "Vince, you're right. This guy is a psycho! He sent his right hand man, a guy named Fenix, to lure us out into the desert. We crossed the border to transport his sh*t back to the U.S. from Mexico." Vince was shocked at her confession.

"When we got across to the other side, this Fenix and his thugs started shooting us. Execution style, one by one. I tried to escape with a guy that I met there… Diogo… but Fenix killed him…shot him in the head without thinking twice, you know?" Letty was becoming noticeably upset at having to relive that moment.

"I was f*cking dead meat for sure…but I managed to get into my car and I ran…I wasn't even thinking about the baby I was carrying…you know…. I just wanted to get my *ss out of there. I flew out of there, but that bastard got me. He chased me and my car flipped. I still don't even know how I managed to escape that wreck. It was a miracle!" Letty explained.

Vince was shocked with Letty's story. "So where'd you go, Let? To Mia's? You must have been hurt!"

"Yeah, I was hurt bad Vince, but I was saved by a couple who happened to be passing by. Thank God they were there. They took me to the hospital. I was banged up pretty bad, broken arm…I almost lost my baby..." Letty sighed and became visibly shaken again.

"I stayed there for awhile. I called Mia and I told her what had happened… including the fact that I was pregnant. She helped me with my medical bills and some survival money that Dom had left for me. When I was well enough to get the hell out of there, I bought a ticket to The Dominican using a fake name. I knew that they'd still be looking for me…but I had to protect my baby…all I could think about was getting as far away from here as possible." Letty paused before continuing.

"But… I lost all of the money that Dom had left me…at the airport. Braga's people were waiting for me and they took a couple of shots at me….I dropped everything and ran! It's been tough surviving without that money…but me and Nina… we did ok." Letty explained.

"So they know you're still alive!" Vince concluded. "Damn it Letty, those guys are probably still looking for you!"

"That's right, V! They know I'm still alive and that's the real reason that I stayed in hiding in The Dominican for so long…. because I had to protect my baby girl. But I've decided to come back to LA now, because I want to fix this situation for Nina. She deserves a better life."

"Vince! Letty! Are you guys here?" Leon shouted as he entered the house and walked into the kitchen.

"Leon!" Letty gasped when she saw him coming into the kitchen.

"Baby, is it really you?" He said. "I can't believe it's you!" They hugged each other.

"Look at you! Gorgeous as always!" Leon said. Letty just smiled and said. "It's good to see you, too."

"If I knew you were here, I'd have put your name in for the race tonight. It's going to be a crazy race!" Leon said.

"Well, Leon, I haven't raced in a long time, now." Letty replied.

"What?" Leon replied surprised. "I know that there's gasoline in your veins, baby. What about Dom? Did he finally stop playing hide and seek and decide to come back to LA with you?"

"What the hell are you talking about, man?" Letty asked confused. "I haven't seen Dom since…" She started to explain but the sound of a crying baby interrupted her. Leon froze in his place.

"Did I just hear a baby crying or is it my imagination?" Leon asked in shock.

The baby cried again, and Leon looked over at Vince. His eyes were wide. "Vince, man, why didn't you tell me…"

"You haven't told him, yet?" Letty asked Vince.

"Tell me what?" Leon asked confused.

"I thought it would be better if you told him, Let." Vince said. Letty just rolled her eyes and left the kitchen.

"Vince, brother, what's happening? Where did you get this baby?" Leon smirked.

Letty quickly returned, carrying a crying Caterina in her arms. She tried to sooth her baby.

"We woke her up by talking so loudly." Letty said annoyed. "And she hates to be woken up."

Leon looked at the tiny baby in Letty's arms. She was a cute little girl. She had lots of dark hair and she was dressed in a yellow sleeper.

"_Wow!_" Leon exclaimed. "Vince, why didn't you tell me that you're a daddy, now? I heard some people talking at the last race that you and Susie…so did you get her pregnant and she dumped the baby off on you? I know she's not the mothering kind …"

Letty just sighed and shook her head.

"Are you insane, Leon? Sh*t, man! I didn't get Susie pregnant! I'm usually the slow one understanding things around here… not you! This baby belongs to Letty and Dominic!" He explained.

"F*ck!" Leon exclaimed and Letty angrily said. "Hey you two, watch your mouth in front of my baby!"

"Holy sh*t! Dom's a daddy? Damn…. I'd have never imagined it!" Leon said smiling

Caterina was still screaming. Letty rocked her and talked sweetly to her daughter. "It's okay, _mi cielo_ (my sweetie), you don't need to be so upset!"

"What's her name?" Leon asked.

"Anna Caterina." Letty proudly said. "But I call her Nina."

"Hello, little Nina!" Leon softly said as he talked to the baby. "Let me hold her. I can stop her from crying."

"What are you going to do, dude?" Vince asked. "Put a cork in her mouth? Man you don't know 'nothing about babies."

"Shut up, Vince!" Leon snapped. "You wouldn't know it… but kids love me. Nina is such a cute little baby, isn't she?" He cooed to her. Nina stopped crying and seemed to focus her dark little eyes in Leon.

"Oh yeah, you love me, don't you, _baby girl_? Come with Uncle Leon." He said carefully taking her from Letty's arms. Letty was surprised. Nina seemed to really like him.

"Okay, I got ya, _baby!_ Now you get comfortable with your Uncle Leon. You don't need to cry anymore little Ms. Toretto. You're tough like your papi, aren't you precious?" Leon continued to babble sweetly to Nina.

"Leon, what do you mean…_did Dom stop playing hide and seek with me_?" Letty suddenly asked him.

Leon looked over at her and then back at Nina and said. "Oh sorry…didn't I tell you? We're all going to have a family reunion over at Blonde's garage. I was on my way over here tonight, and I stopped in at the garage and found out that Dominic had been there earlier today. Dom left his Chevelle there to be fixed. So I, naturally, thought that you two were back together."

Letty felt her heartbeat accelerate. Finally, Dominic was back!

What a coincidence that they chose to come back at the same time!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Dom what did you mean, when you told Brian that you'd find Letty your own way?" Mia asked him as she drove through the streets of Los Angeles.

"You know what I mean, Mia." Dom said frowning.

"Dom, you know you can't just stay… _hanging around_! The police will find you, and they won't think twice about sending you back to Lompoc." Mia explained.

"I need to find her, Mia! Letty is missing and I won't rest until I find her, no matter what you say. I know she's out there somewhere." Dom said.

"How can you be so sure?" Mia skeptically asked.

"Damn it, Mia! I just feel it. You know I love her, don't you?" Dom quietly asked.

Mia stopped the car and tenderly looked over at her brother. It was a very rare thing to hear Dom talk about his feelings.

"I know." Mia said. "I love her, too, Dom" Dom kissed Mia's forehead before opening the car door and stepping out.

"Where are you going?" Mia curiously asked.

"Like I said, I'm going to find her my way. I'll see you later." Dom closed the door and started to walk away.

"Just be careful!" Mia shouted after him and Dominic nodded and continued walked away.

Dom walked through the neighborhood for over thirty minutes. He wasn't very far from his father's house. Dom hoped that they still lived there.

Dom slowly walked up to the front of a white house and stopped. It was a very simple white house, but with a beautifully tended garden out front. An elderly woman was in the front yard, kneeling down on the lawn, planting roses.

Dominic slowly approached and almost whispered. "Hello, Mrs. Ortiz."

The woman looked up and stared at him for a few seconds before saying. "It's been a long time, Dominic. I haven't seen you since your father's funeral."

"I've been gone a long time. I'm sorry." Dominic said. She smiled and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"Come inside." She said as she led him through the balcony of the house.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Gisele slowly sipped from her whiskey glass. She threw the dart that she had been holding in one hand and hit the target squarely in the center. The phone rang and she answered. "Yeah? It's me."

"He's in town!" A voice said on the other side of the line. "I just heard he took his car in to be fixed at the Blonde's garage.

"Great." Gisele said. "I'll tell Braga."

_**To be continued…**_


	11. The Big Plan

**Chapter 11 - The Big Plan**

Memories of being in this house after such a long time brought feelings to the surface that Dominic had suppressed for a very long time. This was the house that belonged to Letty's godparents.

Letty had gone to live with her godparents when she was only three years old, after her mother had died of an overdose. Letty had never known her father. She only knew that he wasn't the right man for her mother.

Carlos Ortiz was her mother's oldest brother… and also her godfather. Carlos gained legal custody of Letty after his sister's death and he raised Letty together with his wife Amalia. They had loved and adored Letty and spoiled her as much as they possibly could.

But Letty was different from other little girls. She didn't like being spoiled and that was one of the biggest reasons for the conflicts that she had developed with her godparents. Carlos and Amalia were extremely overprotective of her. They wanted to prevent Leticia from ending up like her mother.

Dom remembered the night that he went to The Ortiz house to ask Letty's godparents for permission to date her. He was so nervous. He'd made this decision after having had sex with Letty at Mia's birthday party.

At that moment, Dom realized that he hadn't made love to Letty just because she was hot… and drunk but because he really wanted to be with her. He truly cared about her.

They'd known each other for such a long time…it seemed like forever! Dom was four years older than Letty and he knew that her godparents were very traditional.

So… he was sure that if he wanted to be able to date Letty, then he would have to ask her godparents for permission first. He just wasn't sure what their answer would be.

Letty had told him not to come over because she didn't want to date him, but Dom knew that she was just scared about starting a real relationship with him. Letty kept insisting that it was ridiculous that he wanted to date her based on his stupid moral code! She felt that he shouldn't want to be with her just because he had been her first man.

However even with Letty`s protests, Dominic made an _official request_ to her Uncle Carlos to date her. Carlos liked Dom's responsible attitude and he blessed their relationship. Carlos also knew Dom…he had watched him grow up….he was after all the son of his best friend.

Dominic was only twenty years old when he began his relationship with Letty. For a long time afterwards, he had to live with people around him constantly saying that he was stupid for dating the same woman….not even a woman…a teenage girl.

People in their racing communitycouldn't believe that the racing_ King of LA_, the man who could have any woman he wanted….and did have in the past…. _chose_ to sleep with the same girl every night! A relationship! This was a mystery to them all.

Dom didn't give a sh*t about what people said. The only time he'd ever been unfaithful to Letty, was after they'd had one of their crazy fights and they'd separated for awhile. Even so, none of these other women meant anything to Dom. None of them was Letty.

When Dom entered the house with Mrs. Ortiz, he noticed an array of old family pictures that were placed around the living room. Inevitably, his mind traveled back in time. He looked at one specific photo of a time when he was only 14 years old. He had dark curly hair and more muscles than any other boy his age.

Letty was a scrawny girl at 10 years old. She was tiny and had thin little legs and long, smooth dark hair with unruly bangs that covered her eyes. Even so she had the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen, at least when she wasn't trying to annoy him just for the fun of it.

_**Los Angeles, 1988**_

Dominic smiled at seeing all of the excited people around the table. It was July 4, and his parents had invited friends and neighbors over for a barbecue in the backyard in the late afternoon.

His mother, Alessia Toretto and two neighbors were serving guests generous portions of rice, mashed potatoes and salad while his father was preparing chicken and sausage on the grill.

Mia waved a small flag of The United States in the air. Dom knew that she was looking forward to the fireworks later. What else could be more exciting for an eight year old little girl?

Vince, Dom's best friend, had just arrived with his parents. Vince's mother soon joined Alessia and the other women serving the food.

"What's up, Dom?" Vince asked.

Dom couldn't stop laughing. Vince was wearing a ridiculous T-shirt with a picture of ET on it. The movie was released years ago but Vince was still a big fan.

"What's this sh*t you're wearing, _Man_?" Dom asked amused.

"You got a problem with my T-shirt, huh? This is a _cool_ T-shirt, Dom!" Vince proudly replied.

"Dominic! Dominic!" A female voice with a slightly hoarse tone said from behind him. It was impossible to not know who it belonged to.

"Here she comes, _Man_!" Vince smirked. "Are you going to _babysit_ her again today?"

_Leticia Ortiz_. She was the goddaughter of his father's best friend. The girl had stuck to him like glue since the first day they'd met. His name was sweet in her mouth and the girl was always asking him about cars.

Dom liked it when Letty hung around, but he pretended that he didn't because it would be really embarrassing for a 14 year old boy to admit that he liked talking to a 10 year old girl!

"Hey boys!" Letty greeted them, sounding much too mature for her age. It was an interesting contrast, especially because she was wearing a pink frilly dress with ruffles on her skirt and a ribbon the same colour in her hair. The ribbon couldn't contain her unruly bangs and they kept falling in her eyes.

Dom and Vince laughed about her dress. "_Let,_ what are you wearin', _Girl_? This is definitely not you!" Dominic grinned.

"I'm on a mission, _Man!_" Letty grinned. "I'm wearing this sh*t because my Uncle Carlos promised to pay me fifty bucks to please Auntie Amalia, you know! It's The 4th of July!"

"Oh, I got it!" Dom seriously said. Vince was still laughing. "And I bet she wouldn't like it one little bit if you got that dress dirty? Am I right?" Letty nodded trying to keep the bangs out of her eyes, but they continued to fall into her eyes anyway and now they covered part of her face as well.

"Yeah, I'm sure she wouldn't like it." Letty agreed.

"That's too bad." Dom mischievously said. "Because I had something really cool to show you underneath my father's car."

Letty's eyes grew bright. "What is it?"

"There's no way to explain. You'd have to see for yourself." Dom continued to play his game.

"Then show me!" Letty encouraged him.

"No way, girl! Wearing this dress? Come on! I think its better you go play dolls with Mia." Dom said.

"Play dolls with Mia! That's such a girlie thing,_, Man_!" Letty said annoyed.

"What about this dress?" Vince said as he laughed again. Letty put her hands on her hips and said. "Show me the damn thing under the car!"

"You shouldn't talk like that, Letty. Your uncle wouldn't like it. Besides, how would you look underneath the car, without ruining that sweet dress of yours?" Dom said feigning worry.

"Do you want to bet that I could?" Letty angrily asked.

Two minutes later they were in the garage. Dominic admired her courage and spunk because he knew that when Mrs. Ortiz saw that Letty was about to ruin her new dress with car grease she'd be sure to have a heart attack.

"So, what is it?" Letty asked lowering down in front of the car and tearing part of her pantyhose in the process. Vince couldn't control his laughter.

However, before she could crawl under the car and ruin her dress with grease, Dominic stopped her. "Hey! Letty, there's nothing there. I was just kidding with you, that's all."

"What?" Letty angrily gasped.

Dominic stepped back, unable to contain his laughter. He was obviously older, stronger and taller than her but it wasn't enough to intimidate her. "I'll kill you!" Letty screamed.

"I'll bet you will!" Dom doubtfully said but then Letty kicked him hard on his shin and Dominic cried out in pain. He retaliated by pulling the ribbon out of her hair and messed up her curls.

Letty punched him in the stomach making Dom moan again in pain. "I'm betting on Letty, Man!" Vince said totally enjoying the situation.

Dom held her firmly by the wrists but not strong enough to hurt her. Letty then pulled off a surprise tickle and tickled him under his armpits. He started laughing and she was able to push him down to the floor.

"I won!" Letty cried excitedly putting one foot on top of his chest and raising her arms triumphantly in the air.

Amalia arrived on the scene right at that moment. She'd been looking for Letty because dinner was being served. But when she saw her goddaughter she became horrified. Letty had messy hair, torn pantyhose and the ribbon on her dress was undone.

"What's happening here?" Amalia demanded.

"It was all Dominic's fault, Auntie Amalia!" Letty said. "He was being mean to me!"

Dominic stood up and said. "No, Mrs. Ortiz, it was all her fault. It was Letty who started the fight."

"You should be ashamed of yourself, _Dominic Toretto_!" Amalia said. "A fourteen year old boy fighting with a ten year old girl…disgraceful!"

"She's_ not_ just any little girl!" Dom sheepishly said. "She's a little devil!"

"How dare you talk about my little Letty like that!" Amalia angrily said. "I'm going to speak to your father right now…" And she marched out of the garage dragging Letty by the arm.

_**Present Day**_

"Dominic?" Amalia called to him, noticing he was distracted by a picture sitting on the china cabinet in the living room.

He smiled and turned to her and said. "I was just remembering that July 4 when you, Carlos and Letty came over to my parent's house."

"_That_ _was_ a lovely day." Amalia said softly. "Letty was always provoking you, wasn't she?"

"Yeah! And I always enjoyed it!" He added with a grin.

"Come on. Let's talk more in the kitchen. Carlos isn't here." Amalia explained. Once in the kitchen, Amalia made them both coffee and they sat at the small kitchen table near a window where they could look into the backyard.

"I know why you're here." Amalia said gently blowing on her coffee mug before taking a sip. "You're trying to find my goddaughter."

"I was hoping that you could tell me where she is." Dominic optimistically said.

It was no surprise to Dom that Amalia knew that they were separated. After Letty had left home she'd never spoken to her uncle again. Carlos Ortiz was furious…and devastated that Letty was leaving a stable, good life with them… to live with Dom. Carlos had told Letty that if she left…she'd never be welcome back in his home.

Dom had just been released from Lompoc Prison and Carlos felt that he would only hurt Letty. Carlos felt that Letty had so much potential and that she could do better than Dom. But Letty had followed her heart…and Dom.

But Letty had always kept in close contact with her Auntie Amalia. Letty loved Amalia like a mother and Amalia loved Letty unconditionally.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Dominic. But I haven't heard from Letty for about a year now. The last time I did hear from her, she told me that you'd left her. I'd asked myself many times if it was good thing for her to leave us…. to be with you. She'd given up college, alienated herself from Carlos. She did everything for you… and in the end….you abandoned her!" Amalia said.

Dom sighed. He knew Amalia was right. He felt ashamed for leaving Letty.

"I know Mrs. Ortiz… but I did it to protect her. It was getting way too dangerous for her to stay with me and I didn't want Letty to get hurt….or go to jail. Never!" Dom desperately tried to explain things to her.

"Do you think that leaving her behind was safer than her being with you? I don't know where my girl is Dominic, but I feel she needs you. She seemed so hurt when she wrote me and told me she couldn't find you. I haven't heard from Leticia since." Amalia said.

"Mrs. Ortiz… I won't lie to you. Letty got involved with some dangerous people… because she was trying to help me. She wanted to clear my name so that I could come back safely to The United States. But… things went horribly wrong and I… I really need to find her!" Dom said.

"Did you ask her to sacrifice herself for you?" Amalia asked in shock.

"_No_!" He quickly replied. "I would _never_ ask Letty to do anything like that. She did it without my knowledge….because she loves me… and I'm an idiot because I left her behind. So I have to fix my mistake and find Letty… and when I do I'll never leave her again, I promise!" Dom said with conviction.

"I believe you, Dominic. Although Carlos will never forgive you for having beaten that man who caused your father's death. I understand you and I know you love my Letty… so please bring her back to me. I don't care if you both have to leave soon after… I just need to see my girl again!" Amalia tearfully said.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Are you going to meet Dom?" Vince curiously asked Letty after Leon had told them that Dom was back in The States.

"No, man. It's too dangerous." Letty solemnly said. "I can't just go… and see him. I don't know why he came back anyway. He knew it would be suicide to come back here. Brian told me the cops are still looking for him."

"I think Dom's here to find you, Baby!" Leon said.

"He has no idea I'm even here. Anyways, why would he suddenly come looking for me if he was the one that _left me_ in The Dominican?" Letty angrily said.

"Baby, I think you and Dom need to get together and talk things out. There's a big misunderstanding between you two." Leon said.

"And since he doesn't know about the existence of _Little Miss Nina _here…" Leon added as he looked down at Caterina and smiled. She was sleeping peacefully in her mother's arms.

"Forget it, Leon! It's not safe for Dom and me to meet. Someone from Braga's Organization could find out that I'm back in LA. I just told you that I'm being watched. That woman at the airport wasn't a coincidence! I'm certain of it! She mentioned Nina's father. I'm intrigued now…" Letty said.

"You _intri-what_?" Vince asked confused.

"I'm saying that I suspect something's already going on, V!" Letty snapped in frustration.

"Oh…ok, got it!" Vince nervously said…obvious that he really hadn't understood at all.

"But what if there _was _a safe way for you and Dom to meet? Remember the race that I told you about when I got here?" Leon asked.

"Yeah…" Letty curiously said.

"I think you should go, _Girl_! I can talk to Blondie at the garage and make sure that Dom is going to be there tonight. The guy owes me a favour anyway."

"Honestly, Leon, I don't think it's a good idea. If I'm hiding from Braga then why would I go to the most obvious place where he could find me… like a race for example?" She sarcastically asked Leon.

"That's the reason, Baby!" Leon said. "It's _too_ obvious! Braga's men would never expect to find you at a race. Wasn't it you who told us that this guy recruits drivers to take his stuff across the border….but he chooses his drivers…discreetly…. at the private races…. not at popular…public... races like tonight?"

"But he seems to have eyes everywhere, Guys!" Letty sadly said. "Don't you think he'd send someone to the street races anyway….to keep an eye out for the best drivers so that they could work for him?"

"I don't think he'd take a risk like that, Baby! I think he'd prefer that a driver _find him_…rather than him recruit a popular street racer. He'd attract a lot of attention if a famous racer disappeared like you almost did!"

"_Sh*t_!" Vince shouted excitedly. "Leon's right, Letty! And don't be worried about being seen by Braga's men! You'll be in disguise." He grinned.

Letty shook her head and rolled her eyes and replied. "_What the hell?"_

"Ok, here's my plan…" Vince explained. Leon paid close attention but Letty just rolled her eyes.

A plan created by Vince? This couldn't possibly work….or could it?!

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Brian left the morgue and went back to The FBI Headquarters. He'd received a message from his superior telling him that he wanted to see him now.

When he arrived, Brian was intercepted by Agent Sophie Trinh. She was responsible for the internal investigations of Braga's case.

"Brian, I got the information you asked me for!" Sophie anxiously said.

"Shoot!" Brian said as he continued quickly walking down the hallway towards his superior's office. Sophie was holding some folders in her hand as she hurriedly tried to keep up to Brian's large footsteps with her own little steps. She practically had to run to keep up to him.

"I checked the name you gave me…_Maria Fernandez_…. for those specific boarding dates at LAX….a year ago. Not only did a _Maria Fernandez_ board a flight at LAX…there were five _Maria Fernandez's_!" Brian raised his eyebrow and listened intently as Sophie continued.

"Two of them took a direct flight to Mexico and another took a connecting flight bound for France. One embarked with only carryon luggage to Santo Domingo in The Dominican Republic, and the last one traveled to…" Sophie stopped when she collided into Brian who stopped dead in his tracks.

"Did you say… _Santo Domingo_?" Brian asked as his curiosity piqued.

"Yes." Sophie agreed. "_Maria Luisa Fernandez_. She embarked without registering undercarriage luggage at LAX, at 12 pm, direct to Santo Domingo…"

Brian smiled. Things were making sense now. "Trinh….have I told you lately that I love you?"

"Oh, stop flirting with me and take me to dinner sometime." She joked as she smiled up at him.

Brian returned her smile and continued on his way to his boss's office. He thought about what Trinh had relayed to him. Maria Fernandez probably _was_ Leticia Ortiz. She was alive! Dom had been right!

When Brian arrived at the director's door he sighed and then finally knocked on the door. He heard his boss tell him to enter. Inside the room, the director and three more agents were waiting for him, including the nasty Stasiak.

"Welcome, O'Connor." The director curtly said. "I just found out about your little adventure at the morgue earlier today."

"_I'm sorry?"_ Brian said playing dumb.

"An employee from the morgue named Travis called The Bureau to confirm the credentials of a _supposed pathologist_ that you took there to view the body of a young woman that was murdered." Brian could feel himself starting to perspire as his boss informed him about what he knew.

"This gets better Brian….the most interesting part of this story is that this _pathologist_…..a Doctor Elizabeth Forrester isn't even registered at The Medical Council." The director finally said.

"Sir, I can explain!" Brian quickly tried to backtrack.

"It's better you don't, O'Conner!" The director snapped. Stasiak smiled. He loved it when O'Connor got busted when he screwed up.

"One of the security cameras at the morgue recorded the presence of one Dominic Toretto there as well. Brian…what the hell were you thinking?" The director was yelling now.

"Sir, you know that the body in the morgue could be Leticia Ortiz…Toretto's girlfriend. You know she was working for us trying to help him." Brian tried to explain.

"She failed Brian! And that's not all….she broke FBI Protocol when she turned off the microphone in the middle of the mission. The FBI can't be held responsible…" The director started to explain.

"Are you saying that The FBI isn't responsible for her? We don't know if _she_ was the one that turned off the microphone….or somebody else did! We put her there, Sir…. and she was pregnant!" Brian was yelling now.

"_F*ck,_ Brian!" The director cursed. "Why in the hell did you put a pregnant woman in a dangerous situation like that? Were you insane?"

"I didn't know she was pregnant, Sir." Brian stammered.

"Brian, we need to move on with this case and this sh*t can't be happening right now. I'm really sorry about the pregnant girl but Mia Toretto couldn't positively identify the body as that of Leticia Ortiz. It doesn't matter about the results of the autopsy. The disappearance of Leticia Ortiz is officially put on the backburner because we need to focus our full attention on Braga."

"You can't do this, Sir! We're so close to finding her!" Brian protested.

"It doesn't matter, Brian!" The director said. "While we're busy investigating her supposed murder, Braga is still out there… free to do whatever he wants. We need to stop him before he kills anyone else."

"Sir, I respect your opinion but I'd like to continue The Oritz investigation on my own." Brian said.

"You don't have authority for that Brian, and must I remind you that we still want Dominic Toretto! If we find him hanging around this investigation, he'll be arrested and there's nothing you can do about it this time. I'll personally see that the book is thrown at him. If you insist on this _go nowhere_ investigation you'll be suspended from The Bureau Brian… and this time it will be permanent!" The director said with finality.

Brian sighed. This time his hands were tied. "Excuse me!" A female agent said as she entered the room. "Sorry for my delay!"

The director smiled and Brian cursed when he recognized who the agent was. "_Oh, sh*t!"_

"Brian… I believe you already know Agent Monica Fuentes. She'll be working on this investigation with you… and she'll keep an eye on you for me!" The director explained.

Agent Fuentes quietly stared at him. It had been a few years but she hadn't changed a bit since the last time he'd seen her in Florida. Monica smiled at him, now.

Her expensive sunglasses were resting on the top of her head holding strands of her brown hair out of her face. Agent Fuentes wore a white blouse common to FBI agents and casual jeans and black boots. It was Monica's way of saying… yeah I may be a cop but I've still got style.

"Hey you, Brian!" She said with a satisfied smirk on her face.

_**To be continued…  
**_


	12. The Furious Ortiz

**Chapter 12- The Furious Ortiz**

"Dominic is coming!" Blond warned Leon when he saw Dom crossing the street and approach his garage. "I'm glad I finished his car. I think he'll enjoy the modifications that I made to his old Chevelle."

"Alright, Dude!" Leon said smiling.

After he'd left Vince's house, Leon went to Blond's garage to begin their plan. Letty wasn't as easily convinced, but she finally agreed to go along with their crazy scheme.

Everyone thought that this was the best way for Letty to talk to Dom without being discovered by Braga. Plus, Leon and Vince wanted the couple back together… and then the team could be like was before.

"What's up, Dominic?" Blond asked Dom as he entered the garage.

"What's up?" Dominic said with no emotion in his voice. "Did you fix my car, Man?"

"Your car was fried, Buddy! But I welded some pieces together, and I did some cool modifications to make that machine rock. Now your car is ready for whatever you want!" Blond proudly announced.

Blond led Dom to his car and then Leon casually appeared as if he'd been there all along. Leon acted surprised and shouted. "Holy shit! Dom, _is it really you_, _Man?_ I can`t believe it!"

"Hey, Leon!" Dom happily greeted his friend after so long and they hugged each other.

"I can't imagine you coming back to LA. What the hell are you doing here? I heard the cops are still looking for you, Man!" Leon excitedly asked.

"And they always will be looking for me!" Dominic said with a smirk.

Dom looked over at Blond, and Blond immediately understood that Dom wanted some privacy to talk with his old friend. Blond simply nodded and said. "I'm going to my office to work on some shit. Back later."

When Blond left, Dom said. "I'm here because something happened and I had to come about Vince? I was thinking if looking him up after I resolved some things."

"Vince is good! He'd really like to see you. In fact, tonight we're going to a race downtown. You interested?" Leon asked.

"I don`t think so." Dom said. "I'm busy tonight."

"Hey, you should join us….it'll be like old times, Dom." Leon insisted.

"Nah!" Dom said and then added. "Things are different now.'

"How come, Dom? What kinds of _things _are you involved in now?" Leon asked. Dom didn`t answer him.

"Come on, Dominic! We're still a team. You know you can trust me!" Leon said in a low voice.

Dom looked through the glass window into Blonds office and watched him rifle through the papers on his desk. Then Dom looked back at Leon and said. "Leon I came back to LA to find Letty. She's missing. Do you have any idea where is she?"

"Letty? She's missing?" Leon replied, playing dumb. "I'm in shock, Man. I thought she came back with you. I was just going to ask about her."

"No, she didn`t came back with me. We've been separated for about a year now. I left her in The Dominican." Dom sheepishly said and lowered his head down.

"Did you guys break up? _Dude,_ I can`t believe it!" Leon feigned shock.

"No. I was just trying to protect her…that's all. Things were complicated in The Dominican. Cops were closing in. But I made a mistake when I left her behind." Dom quietly said.

"You did a damn stupid thing, Dom!" Leon said.

"Leon, I'm afraid that something very bad has happened to my Letty. I need to find her!" Dom seemed desperate.

"I can help you, Dom. You know I love Letty. She's family. She's part of the team." Leon paused and then said. "Look… are you sure you don`t want to come to the race tonight? If you're looking for Letty, then the race might be a good place to start looking."

"I don`t think Letty would be in a race, Leon" Dominic quietly said.

"Why not?" Leon said. "Maybe she'll be there looking for you, the most obvious place to find you, Dom."

Dom thought about it. Maybe Leon was right. If Letty _was_ in LA and trying to contact him, then a race would be the most obvious place for her to find him! The cops probably wouldn't be looking for him in the most obvious place…a public race!

A race was too obvious, therefore the best place for them to meet. If there were cops there it still wouldn't be easy to find him. He knew there would be lots of people at the race, and even if he couldn't find Letty there, he might find out some sort of information about her or Braga.

"Ok, I'll go to the race tonight and make some money. But I can't race my Chevelle. I need a ten second car." Dom explained.

Leon smiled. "That won't be a problem!"

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Why are you so mad?" Monica asked Brian as she followed him down the hallway of The FBI Headquarters. "When they told me we'd be working together, I thought that you'd be happy to see me."

Brian forced a smile. "Monica, you don`t know what you`re getting yourself into. This sonofab*tch case has been going on too damn long. It's time to end it. I just don`t know why the boss chose you to watch me. It's ridiculous!"

"Ok, so do you seriously think that I can't watch over you?" Monica asked.

"This is The FBI, Monica!" Brian said. "Not The Fashion Police!"

"Brian you're so friggin' arrogant!" Monica was becoming annoyed now. "You haven't changed one little bit."

"Brian! I'm so glad that I found you!" Sophie called to him as she hurried down the corridor towards him. "I found out one more thing about your _Maria Fernandez…_and I think you'll like it."

"What did you find out?" Brian asked intrigued.

"I found out that the same Maria Fernandez who boarded without luggage to The Dominican Republic a year ago…. returned to LA this morning!" Sophie explained with a triumphant smile on her face.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Letty looked at her daughter sleeping like an angel on the bed, and then looked nervously over at Vince.

"Come on, Letty…you can't give up now!" Vince asked. "Leon said that he's convinced Dom to be at the race tonight. He also loaned him a car. You need to be there, too!"

"Vince… I'm not sure if I can leave Nina. I've never done this before! Soledad was the only other person who ever watched over Nina besides me… and she isn't here now! And that was only when I had to go to work!"

"Letty, she's just a tiny little thing. Of course I can handle her! I swear… I`ll be as good to her as if she was my favourite car…. and you know my car is like my baby!" Vince stood there with a big grin on his face.

Letty rolled her eyes. Vince continued talking. "I'm serious, _woman_! Just tell me what she eats and what she likes to do when she's awake."

Letty sighed. She needed to find Dom. She had so much to tell him and the only babysitter she had for Nina now…..was Vince. Letty knew if she wanted to do this…she had no choice.

"_God help me." _Letty thought before finally agreeing. "Ok,Vince. I`ll let my daughter stay with you. My heart is in pain now… but there's no other way."

Letty looked at her little girl again and caressed her hair. "I put some milk in a bottle so you can feed her if she wakes up. She'll go back to sleep after you feed her, but you have to remember to burp her first."

"Ok, but I told you I don`t have any milk…. so where'd you get it from?" Vince asked and Letty frowned. Vince was slow but he finally understood and gasped. "Oh, ok! I got it! But how do I make her burp? You know… I don`t need any help when I burp."

"I'm sure you don't." Letty agreed, slightly annoyed. "Just place her carefully on your shoulder and tap her back gently…. I said _gentl_y Vince!"

"Ok, ok, I got it! Don`t worry!" Vince agreed, becoming a bit annoyed himself.

"Vince I'm leaving my child in your hands…. if anything happens to her while I'm at this damn race…" Letty's lips were trembling now.

"_Jesus, woman_! Would you just relax? I told you I`ll take care of the baby! What could happen, huh?" Vince said exasperated.

Letty visibly shuddered, because she didn't want to think about all of the possibilities that could happen to her baby. Letty resigned herself to the reality that this was the best thing for now…Nina would be ok for a short time… with Vince….and she needed to get to Dom.

Letty got ready for the race and the got into the car that Vince had gotten for her. It was a green '68 Camaro SS, with gray stripes on the bumper. "Holy crap! Where did you get this machine, _Man_?" Letty gasped, suddenly feeling very excited about being in a race after such a long time.

Letty remembered that the last time that she raced was when she was running from Fenix, trying to save her own life…and the life of Nina. To be able to race and relax again felt good.

"I got this machine from the junkyard, can you believe it? I hauled it to my garage and I got some old blueprints that Jess made, you know? And my buddy Tyler and I worked on this car. Well, we practically built a new car. You'll see what _my baby_ can do now!"

Letty turned on the engine and revved it. She was giggling now and said. "I bet I'm going to win this race, Vince, and get some money for my baby girl!"

"With _this car_ you'll win, girl! Too bad I`ll miss _my baby's_ first race… but it's for the greater good, right? _Man_, I wanted too see Dominic's face when he sees you! Leon said that he only came back to LA to find you." Vince explained.

Letty wanted to believe it, but she was reluctant to. She had her doubts and besides, she was still very upset with Dom for abandoning her.

"The money for entrance fee is in the glove box." Vince said.

"Thank you for doing this for me, Vince." Letty said.

"You don't have to thank me. We're family. We're a team, remember? And now the team is back!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dom smiled when Leon gave him the keys to the car that he would drive that night. It was a blue Nissan with incredible modifications. Dom couldn't wait to see what this amazing machine could do.

"Here's your ten second car, Dom!" Leon proudly announced. Dom got in the car and Leon sat beside him in the passenger seat. Dom turned on the car and smiled. He then quickly drove through the streets of Los Angeles.

"Hey! Slow down, man!" Leon said holding on to his seat. "The race hasn't started yet! And besides…you wouldn't want to attract the attention of the cops."

The streets were full of people that night. Everyone was waiting to watch one more race between the beasts of the streets.

As usual, there were many cars of many colors and models. The hoods of the cars were raised to display their enginges and the music playing from so many car stereos became one big noise. The noise was very annoying, but it didn't seem to bother the drivers, the racing fans or the gamblers putting money down on their cars.

Dom parked in the drivers line. Everyone was almost ready to start. His sudden arrival in the stylish Nissan caught people's attention.

"What`s up?" A young girl said as she approached Dom and his car. She was wearing a pink dress. It was Suki, the girl whom Letty had met in the ladies room of the bar one year ago.

"What`s up, _baby_?" Leon said. He knew Suki from other races. "This my friend, Dominic."

"Dominic Toretto?" Suki asked with a smile. "Man… you're a legend around here. Are you racing tonight?"

"Yeah!" Dominic said.

"Shit!" Suki said. "I'm going to lose all my money tonight."

"I bet you will, girl!" Dom smirked. He was deliberately being sociable, in an attempt to get more information about this race and maybe some important clues about Letty?

"Who's organizing this race?" Dom asked Suki.

"Hector." Suki said and just then, Hector magically appeared.

"_Dominic Toretto_!" Hector barked as he walked around Dom`s car. "I heard that the cops were looking for you, hombre (man). Is this true?"

"Let`s just say I didn't come back to LA for a social visit." Dom grimly said.

"You going to race with this?" Hector pointed to The Nissan. "Me gusta mucho (I like it very much). "I bet your girl enjoys this one a lot. Are you two still together?"

Dom shook his head and said. "Actually I'm looking for her. Have you seen her around, Hector?"

"Hermano (brother), I haven't seen tu chica (your girl) for a long time. But it`s ok, if you're not hanging with her anymore, then maybe you'd be interested in the new girl that's going to race tonight. She reminds me a lot of your ex-girl." Hector said.

Hector pointed to a woman with long dark hair. She was dressed in dark clothes and she was wearing powerful night vision glasses that covered her face. But her curves under her tight clothes suggested that the woman was really beautiful underneath all of her gear.

"Who is she?' Dominic curiously asked. She seemed familiar to him, too, somehow.

Hector grinned and explained. "Her name is Sarah, and she just arrived in LA. This will be her first race in town. She told me that she wants to race against a real driver, so I saw you and thought I'd come and tell you. She wants to bet double…_in cash_… with you tonight. Very simple, one ride and whomever's left behind loses!"

Dominic focused his gaze on Sarah. He thought about refusing the challenge, because that wasn't why he was there. However, if she was so interested in racing with him, then maybe that meant that she was one of Braga`s drivers?

Dom hadn't forgotten about the strange package that he'd received in Panama, supposedly sent by Braga. Maybe this woman was the answer to everything he needed to know. Maybe she could tell him where Letty was. He could make her talk!

"Tell her that I accept her offer!" Dom said to Hector. Hector enjoyed the news and told everybody they were going to have a hot race that night.

Some of the drivers that were racing that night had known Dom for a long time. A few of them went to say hello to him. Among them were Edwin and Silvia.

Silvia was one of the women that Letty used to call a skank. Dominic never thought that Silvia would ever become a driver and work on cars, because she never liked to get grease under her nails.

Silvia talked to Dom for several minutes. She was obviously trying to seduce him and arrange to meet him after the race, but Dom wasn't interested.

The only woman that Dom was interested in that night…was Sarah! He desperately wanted to talk to her. Dom felt a strange feeling deep down in his gut, but somehow the thought of talking to that woman, made him feel like he was going to be close to Letty again. Dom couldn't explain where this _gut feeling_ was coming from…he just knew he had to trust it.

Sarah kept her distance from Dom and the other drivers until the race began. Dom tried to talk to her before she got into her car, a'68 Camaro SS, but she simply ignored him.

One of Hector's girls, a brunette with big boobs known as Solita, made the signal to start the race. She waved a colorful scarf in the air and moved her body sensually in the short red dress that she was wearing.

Dominic revved his engine and looked over at Sarah. Her car was next to his car. She didn`t look at him at all. She kept her focus on the road ahead.

"Are you ready?" Solita shouted. "_Go_!" The cars sped off. Immediately, Dom, Sarah, Edwin and Silvia fought for the lead position.

"_Go, Letty! Go!"_ Leon murmured to himself as he followed the the cars with his eyes.

The finish line wasn't very far, about five miles through the city streets. Silvia was quickly left behind by Edwin. Edwin pursued the leaders and soon he was competing head to head with Dom and Sarah.

Suki reached them on the final turn but she lost control and crashed into Edwin. "Oh, _f*ck_!" Edwin shouted angrily at Suki. She got out of her car and shouted insults back at him, too.

The race continued between Dom and Sarah. They looked at each other and then suddenly their cars lightly collided. Sarah smiled at him before turning on her NoS system. Her smile caught Dom off guard. Sarah's smile was identical to Letty`s! It couldn't be! _Could it_?

Dominic`s brief distraction was fatal, because by the time he'd activated the NoS System of The Nissan, Sarah's Camaro had already crossed the finish line…. only a mere seconds ahead of him.

People couldn't believe that Dominic Toretto had lost his first race to a woman!

Several people approached Sarah, shouting and cheering. Hector awarded her her prize money. However, Dominic didn't give a damn that he'd lost the race. He was thinking about Sarah`s smile. He needed to talk to her and make sure that he wasn't going crazy or something.

Dom tried to get near her, but the crowd wasn't helping. Suddenly, Sarah broke away from the crowd and moved towards a dark alley. Dom followed her. His heart was racing so fast that he could swear it would burst out of his chest. He needed to get close to her and look into her eyes.

"_Hey!_" Dom called after her when she finally stopped walking. Sarah's back was to him. Dom walked towards her.

"Who are you?" Dom demanded as he approached her.

The mysterious woman finally turned towards him and stepped forward out of the shadows and stood face to face with Dominic Toretto. She removed her glasses and even in that dimly lit alley, Dom instantly knew who she was.

"It`s been a long time, _Papi_!" Letty said with irony in her voice.

_**To be continued…**_


	13. Laundry Service

**Chapter 13 - Laundry Service**

Dominic had never been a sentimental man. But now seeing Letty again…safe and sound after he'd been to the morgue believing she was dead, was too much for him to handle. He felt his knees grow weak. His throat suddenly became dry and his hands were sweating.

Dom's voice broke when he pronounced her name. "_Letty_…"

"You know Dom, looking at you right now… you make me wonder why you always seem so damn surprised to see me." Letty purred.

_**Dominican Republic, 1 year ago**_

The party seemed to be in full swing when Letty arrived. There were several couples wrapped into each other and they were dancing to a slow and romantic song out on the dance floor.

Letty slowly strolled amongst the dancers looking for Dom. Someone had told her that Dominic would be at that party tonight and Letty _needed_ to find him.

Dom and Letty had been separated for a few weeks now and she'd been missing him desperately. Times had been very difficult since they'd all left The United States.

After their last heist had failed, and with what had happened to Vince out on the road, and the discovery that Brian was a cop, Dom didn't hesitate in sending Letty to Mexico with Leon in his old Chevelle.

Letty had been injured but there wasn't time to stop at a hospital to get help for her. It was too dangerous…so Letty had to suffer…endure the pain caused by the accident with the Civic, until they crossed the border. Then they could stop and get her some medical attention in Mexico…where it was safer!

Dom joined them there three weeks later. They'd lived together for a short time in Mexico until Leon returned to The States after things had calmed down.

Letty stayed with Dom in Mexico and they traveled from town to town, hiding from the police. They lived like that for 4 years and then things became complicated again.

Dom and Letty had to split up. Letty stayed in Mexico and Dom went ahead to The Dominican Republic. Letty hadn't heard from Dom for quite a while until finally Dom sent her a message asking her to join him in a small town in The Dominican.

When Letty arrived at Dominic's new buddy Santos' house, Santos informed Letty that Dom had gone to a party… to take care of important things to help his family. Letty decided to look for him there.

It wasn't difficult to find the party because everyone seemed to know about it….and they all seemed to know Dom and the real reason he was at that party… everyone except Letty!

Letty wasn't dressed for a party. She was wearing jeans, a T-shirt and jacket, and she carried her backpack with her. She felt like she didn't belong there.

When Letty couldn't find Dom amongst the crowd she wandered around the place and found a door that led to a private room. There was a security guard blocking the door. Letty thought that Dom had to be in there…he was nowhere else to be found!

Letty sighed and then decided to give the security guy her most seductive smile and asked him in Spanish. "Buenas noches. Yo estoy buscando a Dom. Tu lo conoces? (Good evening. I'm looking for Dom. Do you know him?)

"Si, señorita." The man smiled sweetly back at her and eagerly led her to where Dominic was. "Gracias." (Thank you). Letty thanked him and entered the room as the man opened the door for her and motioned her inside.

Letty retrieved a piece of chewing gum from her pocket and chewed it to alleviate her anxiety. All she could think about was holding Dom and never letting him go again.

However, Letty wasn't expecting to find Dom in the situation that she found him in. Dom was there alright, sitting quite comfortably on a sofa with two brunettes hanging all over him.

Both women were dressed provocatively and they were kissing Dom. Their hands were moving along his muscular chest and their fingers were slowly sliding down towards his stomach and tempting him in new and dangerous ways. Dom seemed to be enjoying all of the attention…almost encouraging them.

Suddenly, Dom lifted his head and saw Letty glaring intensely back at him. His face turned beat red. He was busted and he knew it. Letty smiled before sarcastically saying. "It ain't that hard to track you down. All I gotta do is follow the odor of skanks."

"_Letty_…" Dom said as he crossed his hands on his lap. He seemed to be thinking about what to say. "Life has a way of changing those plans."

"Tu oye Este? (You hear this one?) Letty said trying to maintain her composure. It was difficult for her not to smack those two whores who were touching her man. "Change of plans." Letty tossed him her heavy bag. "Where do we sleep?"

"Excuse me, ladies." Dom said before he rose from the couch and walked toward Letty. He still had that stupid grin plastered on his face. Letty glared at him angrily but then she almost laughed as she watched his sheepish face because she knew she'd just had busted him good.

"That's right. All the way from Mexico, sucker!" Letty said when Dom came closer to her.

Dom kissed Letty. He'd missed her so damn much. Despite his questionable behavior that night he wasn't really planning on going anywhere with those women, but he knew that he still needed to convince Letty about that.

Obviously, Dom hadn't been expecting to see Letty that night. He thought she wouldn't be arriving for another two days.

"Yo no quiero la saliva de ella! (I don't want to taste their saliva)" Letty said after Dom kissed her. Letty wiped her mouth off on the back of her sleeve, making Dom laugh.

Letty was definitely a unique woman. Dom knew that there was no other woman like Letty…and she was the only woman that he ever wanted.

Dominic took Letty's hand and began to lead her away from the party. Dom was planning on taking her to Santos' place. Santos' house was very small but simple. Dom had a small room out back with only one bed, but he knew that this wouldn't be a problem for them.

Letty seemed too quiet while they were walking away; and before Dom realized what was happening Letty had turned around and determinately sauntered back to the other room.

"_Letty!_" Dominic called after her. "Where are you going? _Come on Baby_….let's get out of here!" Letty just ignored him and walked directly up to the two women who were with Dominic earlier.

"_Hey!_ You two!" Letty angrily glared at the two women. They said nothing to Letty. They just looked at each other and then back at Letty. They both seemed very intimidated by Letty's presence.

"_I'm Leticia Ortiz!_ I'm here now… and I'm not going anywhere…. so tell all of your friends on this damn island that if you or any of your friends ever come near my man again….they'll be in for some serious sh*t!"

Neither of the women said a word. Too bad, Letty thought, because she was dying for blood that night after seeing Dominic there with those skanks.

"Have you finished?" Dominic asked as he glared at Letty. He was annoyed with her attitude. She didn't care….she was annoyed with _his _attitude earlier.

Letty didn't respond immediately. Instead, she turned and kissed him intensely in front of everyone at that party and whispered into his ear, so only Dom could hear. "Don't ever mess with me Dominic Toretto…or you'll f*cking regret it!"

_**Los Angeles. Present time**_

Dom instantly thought about so many moments from the past when he saw Letty again. There were so many things that he needed to tell her. This wasn't the first time that they'd been separated but this time was certainly the most difficult.

Neither Dom nor Letty seemed to know what to say, at least not at the initial moment of seeing each other again. So, Dominic followed his instinct…and his heart…

In one short step he had Letty in his arms and kissed her passionately, silencing the despair that he'd been feeling since he'd received that strange package in Panama one week earlier.

Dom felt Letty relax slightly and heard her sigh, so he pulled her closer against his chest while he pushed his tongue inside her mouth. He'd missed her so much. Her scent, her touch…everything that was Letty!

Dom suddenly realized that Letty wasn't kissing him back. For a few milliseconds he suffered with the idea that the woman he was kissing wasn't Letty, not really.

Dom thought that maybe he was going crazy! That this was all just a dream and that this woman before him was nothing more than a ghost….like a mirage appearing before a desperate and dying man in the middle of the desert!

However, mirages don't cry, much less weep like this woman was. Dominic stepped back when he felt the dampness on Letty's cheek. Letty was crying and her lips were trembling.

"_Letty…please_…" Dom started to say but he stopped when he felt his ears ringing by the sound of the sudden impact of her hand slapping his face. His cheek was stinging and he actually winced. The slap was so hard that Dom thought he wouldn't be able to move his jaw for a week.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to wake up all alone… not knowing where the hell you were….if you were ok…..alive even?" Letty stammered in a low, vulnerable voice.

Letty's usual husky voice always made Dom feel a shiver run up and down his spine…. a completely involuntary reaction. It was the proof of the power that Letty had over him…but this vulnerable voice made his heart break….and he knew that he was the cause of it.

"You just left." Letty continued. "You left me without any explanation. _Nothing!_ If you wanted to leave me Dominic, then you could have at least had the decency to wake me up and tell me to my face what the f*ck you were going to do! I deserved more respect than that after living with you on the run for five years as a fugitive from justice. I gave up my family…everything for you…and you just left!"

"_You'd never let me go!"_ Dom sheepishly replied in his own deep voice. Letty had the same sensation that Dom had had moments before when she heard his voice again. "And I needed to go! We got into some deep sh*t down in The Dominican, Letty! It was too risky for you to stay with me. I did it for you!"

"That was my decision, Dom. Not yours. But the problem here is that you're always trying to make decisions for me. Tu quieres ser `el macho' (You want to be _the man_). Letty quietly said.

"Oh, f*ck, Letty! You're so wrong!" Dom raised his voice.

"_No!_ You're the one that's wrong, damn it!" Letty shouted. "It's always been this way, since we first got together… that first time… and you went to ask permission from my godparents to date me. You didn't ask _me_ first. You didn't care if dating you was what _I_ really wanted!"

"Ok, so dating me wasn't what you really wanted?" Dom replied. "We had sex and you were only 16. I was just trying to do the right thing!"

"Funny!" Letty exclaimed. "An outlaw talking about right and wrong!"

Dom folded his arms in front of his chest and said. "Letty, come on! We're not going to talk about this sh*t because you know you made a big mistake when you returned to LA and got involved in O'Conner's plans. _I know everything!"_

"_What the hell do you know?"_ Letty snapped. "Dom, only you'd be selfish enough not to really see the things that you do? You almost ended our relationship when you f*cked Johnny Tran's sister!"

"Oh, sh*t!" Dom cursed. "Letty, can't you forget that for God's Sake? It only happened once… and I was drunk. You and I had a fight. You told me you wanted a break… and I told you the truth after words. You hated me and you didn't talk to me for almost two months… so I think I already paid for that indiscretion."

"What about when I traveled for days to get to you from Mexico, only to find you enjoying a couple of skanks draped all over you at a party? And don't tell me you were drunk again because I was there and I saw you!" Letty calmly challenged him.

"Let, why do you want to talk about the past right now? I asked for your forgiveness a million times in The Dominican… and you said you'd forgiven me!" Dom pleaded.

"I'm tired of forgiving you, Dominic Toretto! The last thing you did to me was the worst thing of all! You left me all alone in The Dominican without any kind of explanation. You just disappeared! Walked out on us! Vince, Leon and I… we tried to find you but it was in vain. Brian was my only hope to bring you back."

Dom remained silent for a moment and just listened to Letty talk. "Do you know why I risked my life for you, Dom?" Letty asked.

Dom looked deep into Letty's eyes. The tears were freely falling down her face, now. Dom felt his own eyes become wet but he didn't cry. He was trying too hard to maintain his composure.

"_Ay, Papi_…" Letty emotionally said. "I risked my life for you because I love you! That's why! I stopped talking to my godfather after your father died… because I love you! I've been living this life of bandolera with you because I love you very much!"

"_Mami_…" Dom whispered as he held her hands. Letty didn't pull away from him this time.

Leon saw them talking in the dark alley and smiled. If they were talking then that was a good thing. He decided to go back to Vince's place. He thought that it wasn't safe to leave him alone with the baby much longer. Vince could wind up doing something stupid even with all of his good intentions.

Dom held Letty gently against him and she snuggled up against his chest. He whispered into her ear. "Baby, I came back to L.A. because of you. I was afraid that something had happened to you. Mia told me you were dead. Brian took me to the morgue to identify a body that they thought was you… I was desperate just thinking that you could be dead, _Baby_….."

"Dom, they want to kill me for all I know." Letty whimpered. "Braga?" Dom asked. Letty nodded.

"I've been hiding in The Dominican Republic all this time. I was safe in a small town but I was missing LA so much… so I decided to come back. I need to make things right for Nina. I wasn't expecting to see you." Letty explained.

Dom caressed Letty's face. Somehow she seemed more mature since the last time he'd seen her. Her body was gorgeous. Her breasts were almost jumping out of the sexy top that she was wearing.

"_Let_….there's something different about you." Dom said. "I mean you look beautiful…you always do….but there's just something….different." Dom wanted to ask about her pregnancy but he didn't know how to even start that conversation.

Although they were having a civilized conversation Dom knew that she was still extremely angry with him for leaving her…and somehow….fragile…vulnerable.

"It must be because of Nina." Letty replied as she wiped her tears away.

"Who's Nina?" Dom asked.

"Your daughter." Letty answered.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_**Dominican Republic**__**. 1 year earlier **_

Letty was tired. Very tired. The trip to The Dominican Republic had been very difficult. She'd felt sick on the plane during the entire trip and was unable to eat anything. Her lips were still swollen and sore because of the fight she'd had with Phoenix at the airport. Her broken arm was throbbing.

Letty felt terribly alone after leaving everything behind again to venture into a life of bandolera, this time carrying a child and without Dominic. After the plane had landed Letty caught a ride to the bus station.

Letty thought about traveling to the village and staying with Santos' family. Santos' aunt was a good woman and Letty knew that she would help her. But Letty also knew that if she stayed there that she would be an easy target for Braga, and she needed a safe quiet place to hide until her baby born.

Once on the road, Letty consulted a map and decided to travel to a small village approximately 200 miles from Santo Domingo. She arrived there late at night, even more exhausted than she could have ever imagined.

Letty was still feeling a bit nauseous but she knew that she had to eat something for the sake of her unborn baby. She counted the money in her handbag. There was enough for a decent meal and a cheap room to sleep in for the night. The next morning she would try to find a job.

Letty walked through the streets of the village until she found a small café a few blocks away from the bus station. She went in and sat down exhausted on an old red couch in front of an old wooden table.

A waitress came to talk to her immediately. There were no other customers in the establishment. "Buenas noches, Chica!" (Good evening, girl!) The woman said. "Apetece algo?"(What can I get for you?) Café por supuesto? (Coffee perhaps?)"

"No, gracias. Pero me gustaria un vaso de leche." (No, thanks. But I'd like a glass of milk.) "Lo que tu quieras." (You're the boss.)

The woman walked away and then came back with a glass of cold milk for Letty. It was very hot and the drink helped calm down Letty's nerves. The waitress stood quietly beside Letty and watched her drink the milk in one gulp.

When Letty finished the milk she rummaged through her purse for her money and asked the waitress. "Cuanto?"(How much for the milk?)

"No es nada." (Nothing). The waitress said smiling empathetically at Letty before adding in English. "It's on the house." "Gracias." (Thanks) Letty quietly said.

"Tu no eres de aqui, verdad?" (So, you're not from around here, right?) Letty nodded. The woman sat down on the couch across the table opposite Letty.

"Yo soy Soledad. Perdoname por importunarte pero no he tenido muchos clientes por aquí y me gusta mucho hablar." (I'm Soledad. Forgive me for interrupting you but I haven't had many customers tonight…. and I love to talk.)

Letty smiled at her. "Yo soy Letty. (I`m Letty)

"Entonces que haces por aquí? De dónde vienes?" (So what are you doing here in The Dominican? Where are you from?)

"Los Angeles. Yo acabo de llegar. Estoy buscando um trabajo y un lugar para quedarme." (I just got here. I'm looking for a job and place to stay.)

"Talvez yo pueda ayurdarla, Chica. Que sabes hacer?" (Maybe I can help you, girl. What can you do?)

"Bueno, yo…" (Well, I…) Letty began but the noise of a car engine backfiring and the voice of an angry man outside the restaurant interrupted their conversation.

"Que pasa Joaquin?" (What happened, Joaquin?) Soledad shouted to him but the man didn't answer her. The man just cursed again. "Es mi esposo." (He is my husband). Soledad told Letty.

"Que pasa hombre de Dios?" (What's going on, man?) Soledad left the restaurant and Letty followed her outside.

"Esta puta de coche que yo no puedo arreglar." (This damn car that I can't fix!) "Es major quemar todo de una vez!" (It'd be better to set fire to this piece of sh*t).

"Es cierto que tu no puedes arreglarlo?" (Are you sure you can't fix it?) Joaquin shook his head.

"Puedo?" (May I?) Letty asked pointing to the car. Soledad's husband looked at Letty and smiled. If he couldn't fix his own car, considering that he was the best mechanic in town, then what could this young girl possibly do? He decided to let her try.

"Muy bien, niña." Joaquin said laughing. He was amused now.

Letty opened the hood and studied the engine. A small amount of steam escaped and she moved away quickly, protecting her nose with the lapel of her jacket. She knew that she shouldn't breathe in the steam because it wouldn't be good for her baby.

Once the steam had dissipated, Letty approached the car again and meticulously inspected every piece of the engine as if she were a doctor examining a patient.

Soledad and Joaquin remained quiet and watched her work. Letty took off her jacket, rolled up her sleeves and tied her hair back. Then she asked Soledad for a glass of ice water. She worked on the car for almost an hour. When she finished she asked Joaquin to try to start the engine again.

Joaquin agreed and got into the car, although he wasn't convinced that the car would start again. Letty connected some wires and said. "Ok, turn it on!"

Joaquin turned the ignition and the car made a strange noise… almost like a sob. Letty frowned and thought about what was wrong. She had grease under her nails now but she didn't care. That car had challenged her and she was determined to discover what the problem was.

"Please try again, Don Joaquin. I'll adjust the choke!" Letty instructed him.

Joaquin rolled his eyes but Soledad gave him a look that said that it would be better that he listened to Letty. He whispered to his wife. _"Ok_!"

Joaquin was amused with the girl trying to fix his car in the first place, however when he turned the ignition on again he was stunned that the engine actually rumbled powerfully to life again.

Soledad's eyes widened. Joaquin smiled and excitedly said. "Santa Madre de Dios! Que hiciste en Este coche, muchacha?" (Holy Mother of God. What did you to this car, girl?)

"I haven't heard the engine of this car purr like that since we bought it in 1977!" Soledad said pleasantly surprised.

"Muchas gracias." (Thank you very much.). Joaquin thanked Letty. "How much do I owe you for this service?" Soledad motioned for him to wait and then she led Letty back inside the restaurant.

"You said you needed a job, right Niña? Well, my brother has a garage… and he always needs talented people like you to work for him."

"You are very kind but I can't accept your offer." Letty replied. "Why?" Soledad asked confused.

"Yo estoy embarazada." (I'm pregnant.). Letty confessed. "You know, the gas fumes, the smoke, the oil and other chemicals… none of this would be good for my baby's health. Besides… who would want to hire a pregnant woman?"

"Oh, no, Chica. Yo ye comprendo!" Soledad said. "Pero aún tu puedes aceptar el empleo." (Oh no, girl, I understand you but you can still take the job.). During your pregnancy, you can guide the mechanics at the garage and assist them in any chores that need to be done. My brother will pay you a decent salary. I can offer you room and board."

"_Oh! This would be great_!" Letty excitedly said.

"I can help you with your medical expenses. After all a pregnant woman needs all the help that she can get, and we have an excellent doctor here in town." Soledad explained.

"_Are you serious_?" Letty gasped, not believing what she was hearing.

"Yes, I'm serious." Soledad smiled.

"I don't know what to say." Letty was the one stunned now.

"Say you'll take the offer, Letty." Soledad simply said.

"Deal!" Letty agreed with a big smile and shook hands with Soledad.

_**Present Time**_

"_My daughter?_" Dominic was stunned…..but thrilled. He knew about the possibility, but actually hearing the confirmation from Letty's own lips was quite a different feeling.

"Yes. You left me this little gift when you walked out on me, Dom." Letty confessed as she stared into his eyes.

"Letty… I had no idea… _I swear_! Mia told me she knew but I'll never forgive her for not telling me." Dom pleaded.

"I asked her not to tell you." Letty said.

"Why did you do that? I would have come back to you and…" Dom began.

"You would have been arrested." Letty said. "If you wanted to do the right thing…. then you would have stayed with me in The Dominican Republic instead of leaving me behind. You made your choice…and I made mine."

"But even if I had stayed, we couldn't have stayed there for very long. Elvis was very clear when he said that he wouldn't cover my back if something went wrong. It was my responsibility to get the gasoline back to the people… and you knew it…. and this was going to lead the cops there." Dom tried to explain.

"But we could have gone somewhere else, Dom. I told you we could have gone to Brazil… but you wouldn't listen to me." Letty argued.

Dom remained silent and just listened as Letty continued talking. "You've always been too busy thinking about yourself that you can't see the people around you. Dominic and his selfishness!"

Dom took in a deep breath and made a big effort to get the next words out. He put his pride aside and said. "Letty, I'm _so_ sorry."

"This time Dom…. apologizing isn't going to work….it just isn't enough!" Letty snapped.

Dom tried to take her hand but Letty pulled away. Dom understood. He'd have to be patient now if he really wanted to gain her forgiveness. He'd have to deserve it first….earn it… as well as her trust.

"Please tell me about my little girl." Dom gently pleaded. He was very curious about his daughter.

"Her name is Anna Caterina." Letty grinned. "I call her Nina and she's three months old now."

"An Italian name!" Dom said with a smile.

"She's your daughter after all." Letty sarcastically said.

"Where is she now?" Dom asked.

"She's with Vince." Letty replied.

"_She's with Vince?"_ Dom said shocked. "_What the hell!_ You left our baby girl with that crazy dumbass?"

"_Dom!" _Letty snapped. "Vince might not be the brightest bulb in the closet…. but I trust him."

"I trust him, too…. but not for more than five minutes. Its better we go now!" He stopped talking and then nervously said. "Unless you don't want me to see her?"

"You're her father." Letty said. "It's time for her to meet you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Brian was late arriving at the race. Monica had called him and asked him to come because Dominic Toretto had been seen there. But when Brian arrived, the race had already finished and people were quickly dispersing before the cops could arrive.

"You're late, Hollywood." Monica said when she saw Brian.

"Where's Dom?" Brian asked.

"He just left in the company of a beautiful brunette. You know he lost the race to her." Monica smiled.

"_What?_" Brian exclaimed in shock. "He lost a race? But Dom never loses a race!"

"Well, maybe you can win one against him." Monica mocked.

"Who's this girl that Dom lost the race to?" Brian asked ignoring her comment.

"Her name is Sarah. I've been asking around. She's new here. Tonight was the first time she's raced here in LA. The guy who gave me this information, Hector, swears to me he knows all the drivers in this town. I promised him that I'd have a drink with him later, in exchange for some information."

"What information?" Now it was Brian who was mocking. "He told you the first name of the driver… but you still have no idea who she is."

"Oh! And you think you can do better smartass?" Monica snapped.

"Maybe." Brian optimistically said.

"Ok, but I still prefer to try to get more information from Hector." Monica replied.

"You know what your problem is, woman? You always get yourself into trouble by associating with the wrong guys." Brian said.

"Yeah." Monica agreed. "Including you!" Brian scowled.

"_Brian!_ I can't believe it's really you! What are you doing here, man?" A woman suddenly blurted out. Brian looked at her and immediately recognized her "_Suk__**i**_**!"** Brian smiled at his old friend from Florida.

Monica rolled her eyes. That's when she noticed a woman that had been staring at her and Brian. The woman had long dark hair, a slender body and a delicate face.

The woman glared at Monica with hostility in her dark eyes and then she turned around and got into her car, a powerful black Mercedes. The dark women then suddenly disappeared amongst the crowd.

Agent Monica Fuentes became intrigued. Her gut instinct as a cop told her that this woman wasn't one of the usual racing groupies or skanks who came to the races to find a man. Monica knew that there was something special about this woman……something suspicious.

If Brian hadn't been so busy hugging his little friend he would have noticed her, too.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mia had changed the TV channel for the millionth time, but she couldn't concentrate on anything. She hadn't talked to Dom since she'd left him in the street earlier.

Mia was so worried, thinking that he'd been arrested…or worse…. during his search for Letty. She got up off the sofa and went to look out the window to see if Dom was coming home but there was still no sign of her brother, yet.

However, there was a black car parked across the street. A Mercedes. Not a common car for this neighbourhood. Mia had a bad feeling about that car. Maybe someone was waiting for Dom.

Mia had to warn Dom before he came home. "Damn it!" Mia cursed. There was only one person whom she could call to help her to find Dom.

"O'Conner." Brian said when he answered his phone.

"Brian! It's me." Mia said.

"Mia! Where are you?" Brian asked.

"I'm home now. Brian, there's something strange going on here. I'm so worried…" Mia began but suddenly the phone went dead and the lights went out. The house was now in complete darkness.

"Who's there?" Mia nervously asked.

_**To be continued…**_


	14. Responsibility

**Chapter 14**** - ****Responsibility**

Brian parked his car in front of The Toretto House. It was very quiet. The lights were off and there was no movement.

"Are you sure your friend is even home?" Monica asked as she watched the house.

"You heard her when she called…Mia seemed to be worried about something." Brian anxiously replied.

"Mia?" Monica softy said out loud when she heard Brian say her name. Monica hadn't paid much attention when Brian had said it the first time at the races, because she was still thinking about that woman who was watching them before they left.

"I remember her name. Roman told me about this girl. He said it was because of her that your ass was almost kicked out of the FBI. _She_ was the reason you were on that covert mission when we met. Arresting Verone was the condition imposed by the FBI to accept you back, right?"

"You don't know anything, Monica!" Brian angrily snapped as he nervously looked around the neighbourhood and tried to understand what was going on. Mia had told him about a suspicious car that she thought was watching her house but Brian couldn't see any car there.

"Look Brian, just because things didn't work out between us….doesn't mean that you…" Monica started but Brian cut her off.

Brian was alerted by a suspicious movement on the other side of the street. He gestured for Monica to be quiet. There were two men in the shadows on the other side of the street and they were watching The Toretto house.

"_Damn it!_ They're waiting for Dom!" Brian gasped as he instinctively touched his gun that was hidden under his jacket.

"Are you talking about Dominic Toretto?" Monica whispered as she, also, noticed the presence of the two men lurking nearby.

Brian didn't answer Monica's question and she lost her patience and snapped. _"God damn it, Brian!_ Are we going to be stuck here all night long!"

"_Shhhh_…" Brian silenced her and continued to watch the house. That was when he saw the third man. This third man was wearing some kind of a mask over his face and he was in the process of jumping out of the window from inside the house.

Brian pulled out his gun and got out of the car and shouted. _"Stop! FBI!" _When the man noticed Brian's presence he started running in the opposite direction down the street. Brian ran after him with his gun in his hand but he paused long enough to take a shot at the fleeing man.

However, when the two men outside on the street, who had been waiting for their partner inside the house, saw Brian yelling and shooting they pulled out their own guns and started shooting back. Monica used the car as a shield to protect herself. She started returning fire in an attempt to help Brian.

An intense firefight started and one of the two men darted across the street to get a better shot at Monica but she rolled on the ground and stayed behind the car. She shot again and this time she hit the man on his shoulder. The man screamed in pain and his legs failed him, causing him to fall to the ground. The other man escaped.

Meanwhile, Brian was chasing the man who had fled from the Toretto House. The guy was very fast and he seemed to know the neighborhood very well. He easily infiltrated the dark alleys and lanes to escape from Brian.

For a moment the cop almost caught him but Brian ended up losing him when they arrived at the end of a dark alley and the man disappeared up the fire escape of an old building.

Brian followed him up the stairs and broke into an apartment where a family was having dinner but the man was gone. The family screamed when Brian burst into their kitchen pointing his gun.

"_F*ck!_" Brian angrily shouted as he exited from the fire escape, showing his badge and apologizing to the family as he ran through their kitchen. He quickly checked the hallway outside but there was nobody there.

The suspect would have likely gotten into one of the many apartments. Brian would have to call The FBI and get a search warrant to check all the apartments. But he knew that by the time he get it, it would be too late and the suspect would be far away from there.

Brian was frustrated but he decided to return to The Toretto House. He still needed to know if Mia was alright. In his urge to get the man who fled from the house, Brian forgot to tell Monica to get in there and check on Mia. He prayed that she was ok.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Monica called 911 after she put handcuffs on the man that she'd shot. The police were also on their way and they'd likely arrive in a few minutes.

"Don't be sad because I'm going to be back soon, ok Honey?" Monica sarcastically said to her prisoner. The man whimpered and bit his inferior lip. He was obviously in pain.

Monica moved towards the house and jumped up and over the cement retaining wall and then used the butt of her gun to break the lock on the front door of the locked house. It was very dark inside and Monica was very cautious as she slowly walked through the living room.

Monica lightly touched the wall, feeling for the light switch and found it. She flicked the switch twice but the lights didn't turn on. Perhaps the man who'd been inside of the house earlier had done something to the circuit breaker.

Monica felt a cold sweat trickling down her forehead because she was so tense. She was slowly walking through the house, guided in the darkness only by the moonlight shining through the windows.

The only sound that Monica could hear was the soft sound of the heels of her boots on the wooden floor and the muffled sound of her own breathing. She continued walking slowly towards the kitchen. She had her loaded gun ready and pointed it in different directions as she searched the house.

Suddenly, Monica heard the sound of loud footsteps running in her direction and she turned and stopped herself when she'd realized that she'd almost shot in Brian in the chest. Brian had gotten inside the house by way of the back door.

Monica and Brian both realized how lucky he was because Monica was an expert with her weapon. If she hadn't been, Brian knew that he would likely be dead at that exact moment.

"_Jesus, Brian!"_ Monica snapped when she recognized him in the darkness. For a moment, Brian held his breath when he heard the soft click of the trigger and noticed her gun pointing at him. "I could have shot you God Damn it!" Monica snapped.

"Thanks for not shooting me!" Brian snapped back before asking. "Did you find anyone in the house?"

"Nope." Monica said. "I tried to turn on the lights but it seems that the power is out. Did you see that guy that I cuffed out front?

"No, because I came in through the back door." Brian replied.

"Did you get that man who was in here?" Monica asked.

"I tried! But that bastard escaped!" Brian said frustrated.

"Brian… I don't think your friend is here…" Monica started to say but she stopped suddenly when they heard a small moan coming from behind the kitchen counter.

"_Mia!_" Brian called out as he attempted to illuminate the room with his cell phone light. Mia was lying on the floor. Her long dark hair had fallen in her face.

"_Mia?"_ Brian said again as he crouched down beside her. He gingerly touched her face and realized that there was blood oozing from a wound on her head. "_She's hurt, Monica!" _Brian worriedly said.

"I called 911 already to take care of that guy I shot outside!" Monica explained.

"You didn't tell me he was hurt." Brian snapped.

"And how do you think I got him?" Monica replied. "Do you think I'd roll around with him on the lawn and risk breaking a nail, instead of using my gun?"

Brian rolled his eyes and turned his full attention towards Mia. He touched her wrist and felt for her pulse. It was strong. He sighed with relief.

"If she has a concussion its better you don't move her." Monica said.

"_Mia?_ Can you hear me?" Brian softly called to her as he gently stroked her hair and held her hand. "It's me, Brian. Everything's going to be alright now. I'll take care of you. I promise."

"Brian…" Mia moaned as she tightened her grip on his fingers. At that moment they heard the police sirens and the ambulance arriving.

"Go and tell the paramedics that there are injured people in here!" Brian barked at Monica. Monica immediately ran outside to tell them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the way to Vince's, Dom and Letty drove in their own cars. As Letty drove, Dom followed close at her side. Letty was thinking about how much she'd thought about Dom meeting their daughter.

Letty had wanted this since the first moment that she'd discovered that she was pregnant and wondered if one day Dom would see their baby. She remembered the long hard months in The Dominican being pregnant and alone and thinking that she'd never see Dom again.

_**Dominican Republic, 5 months ago**_

"Yeah, man!" Letty said to Humberto, one of the mechanics who worked at Soledad`s brothers' garage. "You'll have to weld those engine parts again. That's why the car is overheating so much."

"Okay, Letty!" Humberto replied with a smile as he looked at her with admiration. He was very impressed with her knowledge and experience with cars. Humberto was very young. He had just turned eighteen and Letty had instantly become his idol. "What part do I need to weld first?'

"You have to think about what part is making the car heat up more and then start from there." Letty instructed him. "Thanks." Humberto replied and turned his attention to focus on his task.

Letty walked through the narrow garage full of cars and parts with a protective hand on her big baby tummy. She had just completed her seventh month of pregnancy and the doctor had informed her that she and her baby were both extremely healthy.

Her baby would be a girl. Letty could hardly believe it. She was so incredibly happy and was now counting the days until the birth of her daughter. But at the same time she was apprehensive…and sad….because Dominic wouldn't be there to share that moment with her.

Soledad was like a real sister to Letty. Letty worked in the garage but she didn't need to dirty her hands with grease. Her job was just to help and guide the mechanics. Soledad even nagged Letty and made sure she came outside often to avoid over exposure to the gas and oil fumes from inside the garage.

That afternoon after helping Humberto fix an old Mercedes, Letty sat on the porch of Soledad`s house. The heat was terrible that morning and she'd tied her hair in a ponytail. She felt her baby kicking and she smiled and placed both of hands on her belly to feel it.

"Is she kicking?" Soledad asked as she joined her on the porch. She had brought Letty a cold glass of ice tea.

"Thank you." Letty said with a smile as she took the glass and took a long and very refreshing sip from it. "Yeah, I think she's very busy today." Letty joked. "She won't stop kicking me and I'm starting to get worried about my ribs."

Soledad just chuckled. "I never thought I was going to be so huge!" Letty giggled.

"You're just beautiful, mi cielo. (Sweetheart) Soledad said. "If the father of your baby could only see you now, he'd regret every second that he's lost with you these past months." Letty frowned. It was hard for her to talk about Dom and how much she missed him. She wanted so much for him to be there with her.

"Soledad, my baby's father is a man who lives under his own moral code." Letty explained to her as she gently stroked her baby bump trying to calm her baby. "For him things are exactly what they seem. The cops were looking for him and he wanted to protect me. That's all. I don't think that he realized that the safest place for me was by his side. "

Soledad held her hand. She understood how Letty felt about Dom. Letty had told her what had happened a few months earlier. Soledad admired Letty for her courage to face this situation alone.

"You miss him, don't you?" Soledad finally asked Letty. Letty thought for a moment and answered. "Yes. I miss him so damn much and I hate myself for it!"

"Letty, if is your destiny is to be together with him again…then something will happen to make you two meet again." Soledad said.

"I'm not sure if I believe in destiny, my friend…" Letty hesitated and then replied. Then she laughed and said. "Oh! This niña (girl) is kicking again!"

"Did you choose her name already?" Soledad asked placing her hand on Letty's tummy to feel the baby moving.

Letty smiled and said. "I'll call her Anna Caterina."

**Present time**

Dominic parked his car in front of Vince's garage. It had been a long time since he'd been there. Dom knew that Vince had inherited his parent's home after they returned to Texas.

Dom sat in the car and smiled for a second and reminisced about times when he and Vince were kids and had played basketball in this same driveway or when they were teens and had reunited the gang for a party at the house when Vince's parents were out. They drank beer and talked about cars and girls for hours.

Letty had parked her car alongside Dom's and they got out of their vehicles at the same time. He looked at her car and asked. "Where'd you get this machine, Baby?" "It's Vince's" Letty coolly replied as she walked towards the front door.

Dom didn't want to admit it, but he was pretty nervous about meeting his daughter for the first time. It was one thing to know he had a daughter, but quite another thing to meet her for real… and be her father.

Dom knew he was an outlaw and he knew that he couldn't change this and become somebody else as much as he wanted to. He felt his daughter deserved a father like the father he had had. Dom thought that Tony Toretto would have been an extraordinary grandfather, if he was still alive.

When they entered the house Letty called out to their friends. "Vince! Leon! Where are you guys?"

"Leon?" Dominic said. "Ok, that bastard also knew you were here and hid it from me?"

"I asked him not to tell you." Letty curtly said. Before Dom could say anything more about it they both heard the desperate cry of a baby coming from the kitchen. "_Nina!_" Letty ran to the kitchen. Dom followed close behind her.

_"I'll take you to the candy shop ... I'll let you lick the lollipop ... Go 'head girl, don't you stop ..." _Vince was singing while he was rocking Nina in his arms but the girl was still screaming_._

Leon was sitting by his side and banging on the kitchen table with his hands, following the rhythm of Vince's singing in another frustrated attempt to calm Nina down.

"What the hell are you doing with my kid?" Letty angrily asked as she gently took the baby from Vince's arms. "Sorry, Let!" Vince said. "That was the only song I remembered."

"Yeah, we're sorry Letty." Leon joined in. "But the baby wouldn't stop crying. We didn't know what else to do."

They were talking to Letty and hadn't noticed Dom's presence at the kitchen door, yet. He stood there watching Letty trying to calm their baby. He smiled.

"Don't cry _mi cielo_. _Mami_ is back and I won't leave you again. It's okay now…" Letty whispered softly. She adjusted little Caterina on her shoulder and gently rubbed the baby's little back. Nina stopped crying.

"Vince, did you give her the bottle?" Letty asked rocking her daughter. "Yes, I gave it to her but she puked on my best shirt!" Vince complained. "When Leon got here, I was trying to clean her up but then she got her diaper dirty and things got worse…"

"Seriously, Letty, I don't know how you can handle it…" Leon added. "I love kids… but this was too much for me…"

"_Pendejos!"_Letty cursed in Spanish and hugged her little daughter closer to her chest. Now little Nina just whimpered softly into Letty's shoulder.

Suddenly, Vince and Leon both noticed Dom's presence. Vince stood stunned, looking at his best friend for a few seconds. He seemed thrilled to see him. Leon laughed when Vince ran towards Dom and gave him a big strong bear hug and kissed him on top of his shaved head like he used to do during their good old times.

"Dom, you big bastard! When did you get back?" Vince excitedly asked. Dom was happy to see Vince, too, but his eyes were still focused on Letty and their daughter. So Dom just hugged his friend back and smacked him on his shoulder before leaving him and walking towards Letty and their baby girl.

Leon noticed the way Dom and Letty were looking at each other so he made a gesture to Vince saying that they had to leave. "_Why?"_ Vince whined, gesturing back to Leon. "I want to talk to Dom. I haven't seen him for a long time, Man!"

"_You idiot_!" Leon whispered and made another gesture saying that they should leave them alone now. Vince followed him out of the kitchen but he protested the entire way. He said that he hadn't seen Dom for five years and now suddenly he isn't even allowed to talk to him! He was acting like a spoilt child that wasn't getting his way.

When they were finally alone, Letty told Dom without taking her eyes off his. "I dreamed about the day you would meet your child, Dominic."

_**Dominican Republic **____**3 months before**_

Letty had never had problems dealing with pain in her life until now. She had experienced pain before. The first was with the death of her mother. She was too young to remember everything but somehow the emptiness that her mother's death had left with her had haunted Letty for years. She could still feel it even though she'd been raised by her loving godparents.

After that there was the pain of falling madly in love with Dominic Toretto and never knowing if he felt the same for her. He'd become her hero since the first moment that they'd met when her godfather had taken her to play with the daughter of his best friend, Tony Toretto… Dom's father.

However, instead of playing with Mia, Letty preferred to be close to Dom and cars. Letty always loved cars. Her godfather had owned a store and often visited Tony at his garage but he was never a big fan of speed…so totally different from his friend Toretto.

Letty loved speed and every little detail about cars. Even the smell of burnt fuel and oil coming from Toretto's garage made her happy. Soon she was working at the garage. At first she worked as an apprentice after much insistence from her godparents.

According to her Uncle Carlos, there was nothing wrong with his little Letty spending some time at Toretto's garage. He knew his buddy Tony would look after her and make sure that she was safe.

However, Letty's Aunt Amalia had hated the idea of seeing her niece come home every day with dirty clothes and grease under her nails.

"Letty is growing up, Carlos!" Amalia said. "I don't like seeing her in a dirty garage full of men and wearing dirty clothes.

"Amalia, you're overreacting!" Carlos said. "This isn't just any garage. I trust Tony. He's an honest man! Same with his employees. I prefer that Letty be at the garage after school than out in the streets exposed to drugs and sex… besides Dom is always at the garage and he takes care of her.

Letty continued working at the garage for years at Dom's side. But Dom ignored her completely. He acted grumpy when she'd ask him questions about cars but at the same time she could read something in his eyes that made her have hope. Even his protective instinct for her seemed more than just brotherly concern.

Over the years the passion Letty had had for Dom reached new dimensions, and she started trying to get his attention in every way possible until the day she just told him. After their first night together there was no Letty without Dom and no Dom without Letty. This was what everyone said. They were one.

But then the third greatest pain of Letty's life came. Tony Toretto had had a fatal car accident during an official race and Dominic went ballistic. Dom had attacked the man that he'd felt was responsible for his fathers' death.

Dom had almost killed this man and he was immediately arrested, trialed and sentenced to prison. Letty could still felt her chest ache when she remembered the last moment that she saw Dom being taken to Lompoc Prison.

It was two long years of terrible pain and suffering. Carlos had never allowed Letty to visit Dom in prison. She was just 17 and Letty couldn't disobey her godfather. However, she escaped a few times with Vince's help and saw Dom a couple of times during the time he was locked up.

When Dom left Lompoc Prison, Letty had just turned 19. She didn't think twice and packed up all of her stuff moved in with Dom. Carlos was shocked. He'd wanted her to go to college. He'd saved money his entire life for her to be able to study but Letty simply told him. "I don't give a damn about college, Uncle Carlos. I want to be with Dom!"

"You're no different than your mother!" Carlos had shouted at Letty and those were the last words she'd ever heard from her uncle before leaving his house forever. She promptly got into Dom's red Chevelle and they drove away together.

Letty never spoke to her uncle again. Sometimes she'd still see her Aunt Amalia, but the rejection of her uncle that she had learned to love like a father was too hard to handle. The path of pain didn't stop there.

Letty was very happy with Dom after they'd moved in together but his cheating with Johnny Tran's sister almost ruined their relationship. Then they were forced apart after they'd fled from The United States. This separation lasted months before they could be reunited again.

The last and most terrible pain…she'd thought…. had been when Dom had left her behind in The Dominican, pregnant and alone. Now Letty was about to face more pain and this time she knew this pain would be physical and emotional.

It started around three in the morning. Letty woke up with the sensation that she was going to suffocate. She sat up in bed with great difficulty and touched her belly. She was sure that she was having contractions….very painful contractions.

Letty moaned in pain and tried to call Soledad who was sleeping in a bedroom far from hers. Letty had been staying in the last bedroom down the hall from of the kitchen. Letty's bedroom had been quickly put together, especially for her, when she came to live with the family.

Because the house was full of unfinished renovations and the main rooms were on the other side of the kitchen it would be difficult for anyone to hear her please for help.

"_Oh, f__*ck!"_ Letty cursed in a muffled voice. She was feeling the pain intensify, so she tried to get up but it was impossible. Then she realized that she was sitting in a puddle of fluid and blood. Her water had ruptured without warning. "_Why?_" Letty thought. The doctor in town had assured her that the baby would be born in another two or three weeks.

"Soledad! Ayudame!" (Help me) Letty shouted but her voice sounded so weak. She bit her lower lip when a hard contraction came. "Dios!" (God) She cried and layed back down in bed.

Outside there was a storm, and the wind and the rain were beating so hard against the roof making it almost impossible anyone to hear Letty's screams.

Letty was very scared and could only think about Dom at that moment. How much she wished that he was there with her now. Dom would hear her and he would help her immediately. He'd never leave her alone. Or would he? _He did already!_

Letty had tears in her eyes. This was the first time in her life that she really didn't know what to do. It was like being transported back to that dark night when she and her unborn baby were almost killed by Fenix.

The pain increased along with her tears and cries during the terrible storm. Letty didn't know how long she had been crying before someone finally appeared to help her. She could only hear herself screaming. "_Dommm! Dommm!"_

Soledad found her pale and bleeding in her bed. Her forehead was covered with sweat. "Santa Madre de Dios, niña!" (Dear God!) Soledad gasped when she saw Letty. "Maria! Carmen! Mercedes!" She called for her daughters and niece.

Her mother-in-law came too, with some of the men from the family and then there was mass of confusion in the house. But Letty couldn't understand what they were saying because the pain was too much for her. "There's something wrong with my baby…" Letty whispered with a weak muffled voice.

"We must take this chica to the hospital. I'll get my truck. Call your brother to help carry her outside." Joaquin, Soledad`s husband said. "We have no time for this, hombre! This child is coming!" Soledad yelled. "I need boiled water, clean towels, right now!"

Doña Joana, Joaquin`s mother, told the men to go out and she quickly closed the door behind them. Only the women remained to stay and help with the labor. "Everything will be alright, Cariño." Soledad reassured Letty. She put a wet towel on her forehead.

"My daughter…" Letty said. "She's going to be fine!" Soledad reassured her.

"Where is Dom…he's not here…" Letty weakly cried.

"Calm down, mi cielo, you need to help us now, okay? We need you!" Soledad said.

Soledad then spoke to Joana and Joana then raised Letty's nightgown and began to carefully examine her. "What do you think?" Soledad asked her.

"The baby is coming now. There is no time for a hospital!" Joana replied.

"Let's get ready then!" Soledad sighed and then agreed.

"Yes, we can do this but I'm worried…the baby isn't in the right position…" Joana whispered the last words. "_Oh!_" Soledad exclaimed. "The baby is turned?"

"What's happening?" Letty cried. "Oh, shit! It hurts so much!"

"She's partially turned so she'll have to push hard to put the baby in the right position again!" Joana explained

Letty relaxed for a few seconds when the contractions slowed down but soon she was screaming again because they came back stronger than before. "Man, it hurts too much! I don't think I can handle…"

"You can do this!" Soledad gently scolded her. "Now you will push as hard as you can and help us to bring your child to this world! I don't know this Dominic Toretto, that hijo de puta (that son of a bitch) who left you…. but I swear to God if I ever find him I'll kill him if something happens to you and your baby….. so start pushing now, Leticia!"

"Ok!" Letty desperately said. Soledad sat down behind her and helped Letty to sit up enough so that she could rest her back against her friend. Joana covered Letty's legs with a sheet and separated them and said in Spanish. "Ahora empuje, chica, empuje" (Now push girl, push!)

Letty screamed and pushed hard. Soledad grabbed her legs and kept them separated and encouraged Letty. "Push, Letty, push!"

Letty lifted her body and pushed again, the tears were flowing from her face freely now because of her efforts of giving birth. It was extremely painful. "_God!_" Letty screamed again.

"El bebe esta en la posicion ahora!" (The baby is in the right position now). Joana excitedly said. "Solo un poquito mas y tendrás la niña en tus brazos. Empuje, chica, empuje! (Just a little more and you Will have your baby girl in your arms. Push, girl, push!)

"Letty, just one more time!" Soledad said. "Push!"

Letty closed her eyes and thought quickly about all of the good things that she had in her life up until that moment. She thought about Dom and that special smile that he had only for her, and then she pushed hard one last painful time.

Letty thought that she would faint when she used all of her strength to give birth to her daughter, but the sudden loud crying inside the room gave her an extra burst of energy.

"Aqui está tu niña!"(Here is your girl) Joana said lifting the baby to Soledad so that she could cut the umbilical cord. "My daughter…" Letty whispered. "Please let me hold her!"

Soledad couldn't stop smiling when she handed the baby to her mother. The girl wasn't clean yet, she was only wrapped in a blanket, but for now the new mommy thought that she was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

"Hola, mi hija!" (Hello, my daughter) Letty softly said. She was feeling relieved now that her baby was born.

"She's so beautiful, Letty. I'm so proud of you." Soledad said holding back her tears.

"Yes, she's beautiful and she's all mine…my Nina…"

_**Present time**_

Dom heard Letty saying how much she'd dreamed about the day he would meet his daughter. He was so excited at seeing the tiny baby that again he didn't know what to say.

Letty was so beautiful holding their baby in her arms. His daughter. He still couldn't believe that he and Letty had made such a perfect little creature.

At that moment Dominic thought that he would die… that he would kill for Letty and his baby girl. There was nothing more important to him than family. Family was his highest priority, it always had been. Number one of his own moral code.

Dom was feeling so guilty now. He should never have left Letty behind. "Letty if I could turn back time…I'd never have left you. I'd have been by your side during your pregnancy and the day you gave birth…"

"_But you weren't there!"_ Letty angrily snapped holding back her tears.

Dominic slowly walked closer to Letty and his daughter and placed his arm around them in a protective embrace. Letty didn't reject him but she didn't make any other movement, either.

Dom looked down at his little Nina. She was small and plump with her chubby little baby cheeks. Her fat little fingers were grasping the index finger of her mother, while her other little hand was resting possessively on Letty's breast, like she was telling Dom don't mess with my mommy again!

Nina's hair was dark and abundant. Her little brown eyes reminded him of Mia. Toretto eyes.

Dom felt his throat constrict, and his eyes suddenly became damp. He was a father!

There was no greater responsibility according to Dom, and from that moment on he knew that he would take on this responsibility with everything that he had. This responsibility belonged to him.

"_Letty,_ I know you hate me for what I did…and I know that if I tell you that I'm sorry for the thousandth time… it still won't be enough… but I'm back now and I'm not going anywhere…I love you, Baby!"

_**To be continued…**__**  
**_


	15. Nina

**Chapter 15****- Nina**

Letty listened to Dom`s sweet words in complete and utter silence. He'd never spoken to her like that before... ever!

Letty was moved that Dom seemed genuinely sorry about having abandoned her. He was obviously willing to throw down his armour and reveal his vulnerability to her... but to Letty this didn't mean that he would gain her forgiveness so easily.

Letty had suffered too much with this last separation. The fact that she had to deal with her pregnancy alone and later take care of herself and Nina was too overwhelming for her.

Letty knew that she would have never made it, if it hadn't have been for the kindness and help of that amazing Dominican Family.

"Letty...please say something…" Dom pleaded a few minutes later. He was on the edge...stressed at seeing her so quiet...so vulnerable.

Dom had never seen Letty like this before. It scared him. "You're making me crazy here…"

"What do you want me to say, Dom?" Letty abruptly replied.

"Don`t you believe me, Baby?" Dom nervously asked her.

"Perhaps you've already made too many promises, huh Dom!" Letty calmly stated as she slowly moved away from Dom's embrace and walked towards Vince`s bedroom. Dom followed closely behind her.

Once inside the room, Letty sat on the edge of the bed and cradled baby Nina in her arms. Letty cooed sweet words to her baby girl. "Who's mama`s little cookie? Who is she!"

To Dom`s surprise Nina smiled. She was simply adorable. His baby girl seemed to understand perfectly what her mother was saying.

Dom stood at the bedroom door with his arms folded across his chest and watched his two girls together. He was delighted.

"Yes, you're mama`s little cookie…yes, you are…!" Letty kept cooing to Nina. The baby`s smile became bigger until she made a sound that Dom seemed to think sounded like laughter.

Letty had told Dom earlier that Nina was only 3 months old. But Dom was amazed at the way that Nina interacted with her mother, being so young...he thought that the baby somehow seemed older.

Dom and Letty had never really talked seriously about having children before... for obvious reasons.

There had been no place for a child in their life without rules. But now that it had happened, all Dom could think about was how perfect life could be having a child with the woman that he loved.

Why had they never thought seriously about having a child before?

Well...maybe Dom had thought about it once before... a long time ago...

**Dominican Republic, 5 years ago.**

_  
"Oye mi gente, es hora de comier_." (Hey everybody, it's lunchtime!) Santo`s aunt announced to everyone.

Dom and Letty were working together on a rare Torino 300 W. Dominic planned to race the car in two days time.

Letty had some ideas about improving the performance of the wheels when the NOS was turned on.

When Dom and Letty had heard the commotion outside, they realized that it must be time to eat.

Letty had been in town about three weeks now, and she was enjoying this place very much.

The house was happy, filled with good, kind people. Everyone there seemed to love Dominic, and Letty was Dom's girl...so it seemed natural for them to love her, too.

"Baby, we gotta go and eat...or they'll be nothing left for us." Dom jokingly said, as he wiped his greasy hands on his coveralls.

Letty nodded in agreement and began to unzip her own overalls. Dom frowned when he discovered what Letty was wearing underneath.

Letty was wearing a short black tank top and short jeans shorts. "What? You planning on going to lunch with everyone...dressed like this?" Dom gasped, obviously jealous.

Dom knew that no matter what he said or thought, that Letty didn't care about his opinion and wouldn't change a thing. He enjoyed teasing her anyways.

"What? I don`t see a problem with this, Man!" Letty coyly replied, acting all innocent, as she loosened her hair that had been tied in a messy ponytail. She let it fall free around her shoulders.

"Ok!" Dom said pretending to be grumpy with her. "I just think that the boys' attention should be focused on the excellent food that _Tia_ Agripina made for everyone...and not on your beautiful legs... or your beautiful breasts..."

Letty just laughed and came closer to him and whispered. "Well now, I think that Izzy and those other _chicas_ should do the same damn thing... instead of paying too much attention to your muscles…and...other assets...!"

Dominic smiled in defeat. Letty grinned wickedly as she thought about Santo`s sisters and female cousins. She also knew that Dom knew that she was right.

"Touche!" Dom said as he held Letty's hand and led her out of the garage towards the picnic tables outside.

Lunch had been set up outside, because there wasn`t enough room inside with so many people there to eat.

Dom was doing his best to help Santos and the others be happy and be able to have enough food and necessities for everyone everyday.

Living the honest life wasn`t quite enough, however. This was the reason that Dom was still involved with racing and other illegal activities, like stealing gasoline, while living in The Dominican.

True, Dom was making some money for himself and his own family, but this time while on the run from the cops back in LA, Dom was more concerned with helping the people here.

Dom had gotten used to these people calling him. "_Mi gente"._

"Come sit here next to me, _Madriña_." A boy sweetly called to Letty. Dominic had become their "Padriño"(Godfather) and everyone started to call Letty their "Madriña"(Godmother).

"Sorry little man, but she sits next to me!" Dom said to the boy as he possessively placed an arm around Letty`s shoulders. The boy looked disappointed.

"Dom! I can`t believe you just did that! Are you competing with a young boy for my attention?" Letty said as she gingerly touched Dom's arm that was holding her shoulders. "I thought you liked kids."

"I do! ...I do like kids!" Dom was quick to answer. "I love these boys, you know... but I love you even more, Baby!" Dom whispered into Letty's ear and pulled her closer.

Letty smiled and kissed him before they took their seats at the table. Agripina brought the pot with her famous _Chincharron_ recipe, accompanied by mashed green bananas.

During lunch, Letty watched one of Santo`s sisters as she awkwardly held her six month old baby at the dinner table.

The girl was trying to eat, but the baby was making a mess as he kept putting his chubby little fingers into his mother`s plate.

Letty quickly finished her dinner and offered to hold the baby so Iolanda could eat. The young girl smiled gratefully and immediately handed the baby over to Letty.

At first, when Letty held the tiny boy she felt a bit awkward, but soon she was very comfortable holding him.

Dom smiled as he watched her for few minutes before asking her. "You're enjoying this, right?"

"Yeah." Letty admitted as she cradled the baby to her chest because the baby was almost asleep.

Suddenly, Letty noticed that the infant was sleeping very comfortablly on her chest. "I think I`m doing pretty good. What do you think?" Letty provoked Dom with a coy grin.

"We can make one if you want…" Dom softly whispered in her ear. "How about it _Mami_? Hey? We can start trying today…"

Letty just chuckled. "Only if you promise me that from the moment your baby is in here…" She placed a hand lightly on her tummy. "That you'll only drive 40 miles per hour. What do you say,_ Papi_!"

"No way, girl!" Dom quickly replied, laughing.

"So I guess we`ll leave this discussion for another time then, right?" Letty said as she laughed, too. But Dom noticed that there was something different in her eyes.

Dom thought that Letty seemed a little disappointed with his answer and this caught him by surprise. Was she serious then he wondered.

After lunch, Dom and Letty had returned to the garage to continue working on the car. They worked in silence for awhile.

Dom finally asked her. "Letty, when we were talking about having children earlier, what did you really mean? For real, please."

"I didn`t mean anything!" Letty quickly answered but then she sighed and softly added. "I think it`s just my damn hormones talking, but no…I can`t be a mother and you can`t be a father. Seriously. It would never work."

"You're right, but…" Dom said. "But what?" Letty prompted him to continue.

Dom set the tool down that he'd been holding and pulled Letty close into his arms and said. "Someday... maybe it could be good in the future, you know? Sometimes I think about it." Dom confessed.

"Are you serious, Man!" Letty gasped in surprise.

"Yeah, sometimes I think about you being pregnant, you know...with that cute tummy...carrying my baby." Dom cockily admitted.

Dom stopped talking and looked deeply into Letty's eyes and confessed. "It`s just...when I think about the possibility of having a child someday...I know that you're the only woman I'd want to be the mother of my child."

"Oh, Dom!" Letty exclaimed hugging him. "You never told me this before."

"But it`s true, Baby. Someday maybe we could consider the possib..." Dom started to say but Letty cut him off and abruptly said. "Someday, Dom. Maybe someday we`ll talk about it... ok?"

"But Let...what if it happens before we plan anything?" Dom nervously asked her.

"Dom we've been together for a long time now and it's never happened. We`ve been careful with that, you know!" Letty explained.

"I know, Let, but... " Dom protested. "But life can take us by surprise...you know that!"

"You're acting really weird today, Man!" Letty replied grinning and added. "Let`s stop talking shit. We gotta finish this car or you're going to end up racing with Tego`s bike!"

"No way!" Dom protested. "That old piece of junk! Even if he finishes fixing that piece of shit and gets it on the road, nobody would go near it!"

Letty laughed at his comment and the discussion about having children had been quickly forgotten.

**Present Time**

Nina stopped smiling and yawned in her mother`s arms. She was getting sleepy again.

Letty soon realized that the best way to get Nina to sleep was to tire her out by playing with her...stimulating her.

"Do you want to go to sleep, Baby Girl?" Letty whispered to her daughter. "That's so good Sweetie, because mama's very tired, too."

Dominic was still standing at the door. He was feeling insecure about approaching them. Letty looked over at him and smiled and asked. "Do you want to hold her?"

"I…" Dom stammered, suddenly feeling nervous about holding the baby.

"Come on, Man!" Letty encouraged him. "You can do it. She's your kid!"

Dom slowly approached his girls and sat on the edge of the bed, next to Letty. Letty carefully lifted little Caterina up and gently handed her to Dom.

Dominic smiled at the small package in his arms as he awkwardly held Nina.

Letty adjusted Dom's arms around the tiny baby and found a more comfortable position for father and daughter.

"Yeah…this way… you're doing good." Letty encouraged him. She grabbed a pillow and put it behind Dom's back while Dom gently rocked his little Nina in his arms.

"She's so small…I don`t want to hurt her…" Dom worriedly said. Letty smiled as she quietly watched Dom hold their daughter for the very first time.

Nina looked even smaller than usual in her daddy`s big arms. Letty thought for a brief moment how comfortable she used to feel in his arms, too, but she quickly shrugged away the thought.

"You won't hurt her, Man!" Letty reassured Dom as she gently touched one of his hands that were carefully holding their precious little girl.

The scene was beautiful, Letty thought... perfect, in fact!

Dominic looked big and clumsy like a panda bear. He held little Caterina so delicately, as if she would break like a fragile porcelain doll.

Nina gave a huge yawn and nestled herself more comfortably, further into her father`s big arms.

"What a big mouth!" Dominic said speaking softly to the tiny baby. "Are you going to swallow _Tu Papa_?"

Letty softly laughed, and Dominic realized how much he missed the sound of her laughter.

Sometimes Dom used to laugh himself...just listening to Letty's laughter... it was so contagious and always so genuine and spontaneous. It made him happy.

Dom was eager to kiss Letty again, take her into his arms and make love to her all night long...but now there was little Nina to consider.

Dom knew that he'd have to wait to be with Letty again. She was still pissed...and terribly hurt... more than he'd ever seen her before.

Dom knew that Letty wouldn't make things easy for him this time. He knew he'd really screwed up.

Dom couldn't believe that Letty was finally here, like he'd dreamt about so many times during the past year.

Letty was sitting directly beside him, but Dom could sense an invisible barrier between them... a wall marking the separation that his stupidity had caused them.

Nina put her little finger into her mouth and sucked on it. Her eyes were closed. Dom stroked her silky dark hair and told Letty. "My old man would have been thrilled at the opportunity of meeting her."

"I know." Letty softly replied. "Do you remember when we talked about having kids... a long time ago?" Dom asked.

Letty frowned and replied. "Well... we didn't really talk about it."

"Yeah, we did!" Dominic insisted. "That one time in The Dominican, I asked you what we'd do if you got pregnant...even with all the precautions we were taking."

"You said it would never happen, but we both knew that that wasn`t true, Let. You should have told me. Mia should have told me. I would have contacted you and things would have been different." Dom explained.

"Dom, do you remember what you told me when I asked you if you'd be able to drive at 40 miles per hour?" Letty asked him.

Dom nodded. "I do...but I was joking with you, Baby...I wasn`t serious."

"Yes, Dominic! You were serious! 40 miles an hour is too slow for someone like you!"

"No!" Dom shouted. "I don't give a damn about speed, if I don`t have you, _Mami_! It's always been you! Even before what happened in my father`s bed... it was you! You're the only one for me Baby...and now we have Nina."

Dom looked down and gazed at his sleeping daughter. She looked so peaceful in his arms.

Dom looked back up to Letty and gazed into her eyes and said. "It's like I said, Letty, from now on we'll be together...we'll be a real family again...and I`m never going to leave you again. Not Ever!"

Dom lightly touched Letty's hand. She didn`t pull away...but her eyes were dead serious... and he couldn't read her for the first time in his life.

They remained quiet for a few minutes until Dominic broke the silence by saying. "I want to know everything about her, Let."

He looked down at Nina and asked. "When was she born? Tell me everything. Where've you been this last year? How was your pregnancy and who helped you, Baby?"

Letty looked up at Dom and smiled as she began to remember the past year and the memories began to flow from her mind.

And then she began...she began to tell Dom everything that he wanted to know.

"She was born on January tenth. It was raining so hard that night. I'd just completed my eigth month, and the doctor assured me that it would another two or three weeks before she'd be born." Letty explained.

"Where were you living?" Dom quietly asked.

"In a village close to the capital of The Dominican." Letty finally confided.

"I met a good friend there, Soledad. Her brother had a garage. She and her family took care of me. I worked there during my pregnancy, helping... teaching...guiding the mechanics...but I wasn`t working directly with the cars." Letty explained.

"Was your pregnancy...hard?" Dom curiosly asked. He wanted to know everything. "I don`t know nothing about it but…did you feel sick? Did you have cravings?"

Letty giggled at Dom's questions. "I was very sick in the beginning. The first two months were the worst. I could barely keep anything down...but after the third month I felt better and I had a normal, healthy pregnancy after that. About cravings... my only craving was to see you again." Letty admitted.

Dom and Letty stared into each others' eyes and finally Dominic made a move to kiss her, but Letty quickly turned her face away from him. Dom didn't persist and focused his attention back to Nina.

"How did you feel when you found out you were pregnant, Let?" Dom softly asked.

"I fucking freaked out, Dom!" Letty honestly admitted. "But something inside of me told me that I needed to calm down. I needed to get a grip and move on and have this baby, you know?"

Letty sighed and continued. "I didn`t have my mother with me because she'd made too many mistakes. I didn't...don't want to make the same mistakes, Dom. I want to do everything right for Nina."

Dom nodded. He understood perfectly well what Letty meant. He continued with his questions about Nina and her birth.

"How did you know that she was about to born? I mean, were at the hospital or were you alone when the pain started? I wish I could have been there with you." Dom sheepishly admitted.

"I didn`t feel anything until late that night. I slept alone, in a room farthest away from everyone else in the house. I woke up with a terrible pain in my tummy, and I was bleeding. I was so scared, Dom." Letty explained, suddenly becoming emotional.

"I screamed for help... but nobody heard me right away...I was so scared but soon everybody was there to help me. There was no time to take me to the hospital so Nina was born right there at the house." Letty explained.

Dominic was in shock and blurted out. "You gave birth without anesthesia? Fuck Letty, that must have been unbearable! If I was there with you I'd have taken you to the hospital...I'd have driven 140 miles per hour to get you there! I wouldn't have given a damm about the speed limit!"

"I know!" Letty sighed, and somehow her words comforted Dom. It was reassuring to know that she still believed he'd take care of her.

"The pain was...unbearable." Letty told Dom. "I felt like I was being torn apart inside. But after she was born...when I held her in my arms...I didn`t feel any pain anymore. It was just me and my baby." Letty said as she smiled.

"There's no feeling like that in the world Dom, you know? The feeling of looking into your baby`s eyes for the first time...knowing that she's a part of me... that I brought her into this world!" Letty's voice broke with emotion.

"She was so pink and so tiny...fragile...but somehow so strong, too, you know? It was so amazing to see one of God`s Creations weighing in at only 5 pounds, 8 ounces...but she loves to eat and she's gained weight so fast and now she's almost 8 pounds!" Letty beamed with pride and emotion.

"8 pounds?" Dominic chuckled. He loved listening to Letty tell him about their daughter and everything he'd missed. "She looks a lot like Mia as a baby." Dom said.

"Yeah, but I`m positive she didn`t get Mia's sweet disposition!" Letty said with amusement.

The tension between them had dissipated somehow, and their conversation was becoming more relaxed.

"Ana Caterina has a temper... and she gets extremely upset when she's hungry or when her nap is interrupted. She reminds me of someone I know... let me think...mmm...who...of course...you Dom!" Letty teased him.

Dom remained quiet and smiled as Letty continued. "Yeah, she reminds me of you. You're always in a bad mood when you're hungry or when someone wakes you up too early."

"Do you remember when Vince decided to do this? He woke you up before six one morning?" Letty quizzed Dom, huge grin on her face.

Dom just laughed and replied. "Yeah, I broke his damn nose!"

Letty laughed, too, and Nina became frightened by the unfamiliar noise.

Suddenly, she was very upset and she began to cry. "Was it something I did?" Dom worriedly asked. He didn`t know what to do to calm his baby down.

"We woke her up...that's all. Now she's upset like I said, but I know a very effective way to calm her down and make her fall asleep again." Letty said with a confident smile.

"Please hand me the baby." Dom quickly obeyed and handed the baby back to her mother.

Letty spoke softly to Nina, slowly soothing her and effectively calming the baby down a bit.

Then Letty unzipped the zipper on her top, and lowered the strap of her bra. Letty then offered her breast to her daughter.

Dom watched the intimate moment between mother and daughter.

Dom realized how much he enjoyed witnessing his daughter nurse for the very first time... and also how much he'd missed...because of his damn stupidity.

Nina accepted the offer immediately, and ravenously sucked on her mother`s breast.

Nina made greedy little noises that demonstrated her appreciation and satisfaction as she placed her tiny hands around the breast.

Letty sang the baby a lullaby she'd learned in The Dominican. Nina gradually became quiet again and soon she fell asleep.

Dom was delighted with the scene and he didn`t want it to ever end. He didn't ever want to leave Letty`s side again, but soon they heard the voice of Vince coming from the hallway. "Dom! Are you there, Man?"

Letty smiled and said. "I think you better go and talk to him. If you don`t, then I'm pretty sure he'll start crying harder than Nina!"

"Have I ever told you how many times I've wanted to kill that guy?" Dom jokingly replied, but he knew Letty was right.

"I don`t think killing him would solve any problem, Man!" Letty said laughing.

"I`ll be right back, Baby." Dom said as he slowly stood up and kissed the top of Letty's head.

Dom was just leaving the room, but he felt that he needed to reassure Letty that he wasn't going anywhere ever again."

Vince seemed to be extremely happy when Dom left the room and Vince couldn't stop grinning.

"Hey, what`s up, Man? Did you give Letty some lovin' and fix that shit that you did to her? Huh? Does she love you again?"

Vince asked grinning wide.

Dominic just smiled and replied. "For you everything seems so simple. Where's Leon?"

"He went to grab some beers for us!" Vince said.

"Beer?" Dom frowned. "Ok, V...I don`t think I`m in the mood for beer right now. I just want to keep quiet and stay with Letty and our baby."

"Oh, come on, Dom! You gotta have at least one beer with your old friends. We've been missing you for a long time...and besides we want to know all about your little adventures, while you've been gone." Vince drawled.

Vince poked his finger into Dom`s chest and added with a grin. "Tell me Man...how many skanks you been with during this time?"

"Hey! I`m in here listening you talking shit Vince!" Letty bellowed from inside the other room.

"Jeez, woman!" Vince cried out. "My brother and I, we're talking man shit out here!"

"Alright, Dude... but can you please talk about your 'man shit' somewhere else so that you don't disturb my baby?" Letty hollered back.

"You know what? You've become very boring now that you're a mother, you know that, Let?" Vince snapped but Dom was already leading him by the arm and out the front door."

Soon Leon was back with a case of Coronas. The three of them sat on a wooden bench in front of Vince`s garage...the same place they used to shoot the shit a long time ago.

Dom helped himself to one Corona and he was adamant that he would only have one. His mind was still focused on Letty and the sweet scene he'd just watched of her feeding their baby.

"So tell us, Man, where the hell have you been this past year?" Leon asked.

"Man, Letty called us from The Dominican. We joined her to help look for you but we couldn`t find you..." Leon added.

"I went to The Panama." Dom quietly answered. "I knew the damm cops couldn't find me there. Only Mia knew where I was."

"She could have told us, Dom. It would have saved us a lot of trouble, you know?" Leon said.

"I still don`t understand how you could have left Letty behind? I always thought you and her had that 'special soul thing', you know what I mean? The kind of love that you don`t see everyday. I've always thought that since I saw you two together, Man!" Leon explained.

"You're absolutely right, Leon." Dom said. "Letty's special..she is The One...there's no other _chica_ like her...but things turned bad down there. The cops were closing in on our garage in Barracoa. If I was arrested, Letty would have been arrested, too, and there was no way I was going to allow that to happen!"

"Dom, you know she'd prefer to be handcuffed with you than be left behind." Vince said.

"I know, but I didn`t want something like that for her!" Dom said as he took a long swig of his beer.

"I didn't do anything interesting in Panama. I worked in a garage, trying to save money so that I could move and hide some other place if I needed to. I wasn`t thinking about coming back, but now that I`m here I realize I`m not going anywhere, not without Letty." Dom defiantly stated.

"How do you feel now that you're a daddy, Daddy?" Leon asked.

"You'll have to drive 40 miles per hour now, huh? Oh no, 40's not slow enough, Man...I should say 20 miles an hour!" Vince laughed, obviously amused with himself.

"It`s all good!" Dom grinned. "I just need to get used to the idea, that's all. It won't be that hard."

"Sure." Vince said as he rolled his eyes laughing. "Letty's got other things to be worried about now... besides warming your bed, Man!

"I can just see it now Dom...you so horny for her, holding her in your bed...when suddenly you hear the baby screaming. Then Letty immediately gets up, leaves you all alone in your damn bed to so she can take care of the baby...poor guy!" Vince relayed, trying to control his laughter.

"About an hour or more later she comes back but guess what? She's too tired to continue where you left off! Man, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes now." Vince finally finished and burst into aan uncontrollable fit of laughter.

Leon laughed, too. Dom just chuckled. Then Vince added. "Oh, and we didn`t even mention the fact that if we know Letty...like we know Letty...then she'll be playing hard to get with you, Dom! She'll make your life hell!"

"Yeah, she'll make you suffer for leaving her behind! Guaranteed, Man! Vengeance! She`ll make you beg! You prepared for all those lonely nights my friend?" Vince kept grinning as he shared his opinion.

"If I've got two wonderful friends like you...why would I need enemies, huh?" Dom said laughing.

"What about Mia?" Vince suddenly asked. "I bet she freaked out when you came back to L.A. She's always so worried about the cops trying to find you and screwing you over!"

"Oh, shit!" Dom gasped as he almost choked on his beer. He put his beer down and instantly got up to look for a phone.

"I completely forgot about Mia! She'll be hysterical right because I forgot to call her. I need a phone right now!" Dom bellowed.

"I'd love to help you Man, but I lost my cell phone in a poker game." Vince sheepishly said.

Then he added. "And my phone here was cut off because I hadn't been paying the fucking bill. I asked my old man for a little help but he told me that since I`m living in this house by myself I should start paying for my own bills."

"Since when you play poker?" Dom curiously asked. "It`s too complex for you!"

"Here...use my phone, Man." Leon offered. Dom thanked Leon and entered Mia's number. There was no answer.

Dom tried twice more, but Mia still didn't answer. He dialed her cell phone, too, but it kept going to the voicemail.

"Mia's not answering." Dom worriedly said.

"She's probably sleeping, Dom. It`s really late, Man!" Leon said as he checked the clock on his cell phone that Dom had tossed back to him.

"It's past three in the morning." Leon offered, what he thought, was a logical explanation.

"Nah!" Dominic growled as he began to pace the room like a caged tiger. "She'd have answered the damn phone...something's wrong! I have to get back home and check on her."

"Then I'm going with you." Vince said. "Leon can stay here and take care of Letty."

"You got it, Dom. I`ll take care of Letty and your little Toretto Princess!" Leon reassured Dom.

"Okay. But I`ll be back soon." Dom said. "V, I`m just gonna tell Letty I`m leaving and that I'll be back!"

Vince nodded. Dom went back inside the house and went to Vince`s bedroom. He quietly opened the door and whispered.

"Letty?"

Letty didn't answer. She'd fallen asleep with little Nina. Letty had had a busy day and she was exhausted from the long trip back to L.A...and everything else that had happened that day.

Way too much for one day. It was all pretty overwhelming.

Letty was laying on her side in the bed, still wearing her boots, with little Nina curled up against her chest.

Dom bent down and stroked Letty's hair and gently whispered. "Baby, I need to go and check on Mia. But I`m not going to take long, _Mami_...I`ll be back soon...I promise."

"Dom…" Letty whispered in her sleep. "Don`t leave me…please, don`t leave me…"

Dom frowned and blamed himself even more for abandoning Letty. His guilty conscience was hurting him so bad when she said those words.

Dom knew that Letty was asleep and talking subconsciously...but he knew her words reflected her true fears about him leaving her again. He knew it!

Suddenly, Nina start whimpering and Dominic watched Letty protectively wrap her arms around the baby and whisper with her eyes still closed: "Shh…shh…"

Nina stopped crying at that very instant and she immediately calmed down.

Dom knew at that moment that he wanted to be that comfort for his Letty...and be a part of that bond that mother and daughter shared.

Dom wanted to learn how to calm Nina down like Letty could and make her smile... and laugh.

Dom, also, knew that he needed to earn it... he needed to gain Letty's trust again... and it wasn't going to be easy.

"Dom, we gotta get going!" Vince quietly called to Dom from the other side of the bedroom door.

Dominic got up and slowly left Letty's side again... but this time he was very reluctant to leave her.

Dom intended to leave Letty for just a few minutes, maybe an hour at the most... to check on Mia. Then he'd come right back.

Then Dom promised Letty...and himself that he'd be back for her...for both of them and he'd never leave Letty's and Nina's side again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Please follow the light, Mia." The emergency doctor instructed her, as he slowly moved a small light in front of her face.

Mia tried to follow the light but immediately closed her eyes because she felt uncomfortable.

"You'll be ok, Mia. Your blood pressure and heart rate are back to normal now." The doctor reassured to her.

"Do you still feel dizzy?" The doctor asked.

"Yes!" Mia said as she continued to keep her eyes closed. She was feeling like the ceiling was going to fall on her.

"You have a mild concussion." The doctor explained to her. "You've had a blunt force trauma...something hard hit your head...but there are no external injuries. You're going to be ok."

"Your C.T. and x-rays are normal, too. I`ll send the nurse in to give you something for your pain. You'll be under close observation for the rest of the night, okay? Lets see how you feel in the morning. If you feel better tomorrow, then you can go home, but I'd like to do another head C.T., if you don't... just to make sure, ok?" The doctor explained.

"Ok." Mia agreed. The doctor called the nurse and instructed her to give Mia an injection for the pain.

The woman smiled at Mia and asked her how she was doing. Mia told her she was ok but the headache was really bothering her.

"Don`t worry." The nurse confidently said. "I`m sure you'll feel much better after this."

The nurse smiled and held the syringe ready in one hand and an alcohol swab in the other. "Can you please give me your arm? This won't hurt a bit."

Mia started to roll up her sleeve and then asked. "What drug are you giving me?"

"It`s just a common painkiller. Tramadol." The nurse tried to reassure Mia as she efficiently disinfected her arm.

"How many milligrams?" Mia asked. The nurse tested the syringe by squirting a few drops into the air.

The nurse then turned and brought the syringe closer to Mia's arm but Mia pulled her arm away and asked again. "I asked you...how many milligrams?"

"Listen, Miss, just let me do my job, ok?" The nurse abruptly said.

Mia suddenly had a bad feeling about this nurse. She was still feeling dizzy because of her concussion, but Mia thought that the liquid inside of the syringe didn`t look like Tramadol to her.

"I`m not going to take this medication. Call the doctor back here!" Mia seriously informed the nurse.

"Excuse me?" The nurse angrily replied. "The doctor instructed me to give you your medication and that's exactly what I'm going to do!"

"No! You're not!" Mia angrily snapped. "I`m finishing medical school...and I`m pretty sure that's not Tramadol you have in that syringe!"

"You're crazy!" The nurse said as she tried to hold Mia down to give her the injection.

Mia's gut instinct told her to fight back and so she pushed the nurse with all her might.

The nurse was shocked and not at all prepared for Mia's attack and she fell backwards against an empty stretcher in the next cubicle.

The woman looked furious and charged Mia with the loaded syringe still in her hand.

The nurse tried to stab Mia in the neck with the syringe but Mia fought back with all of the strength that she had left in her.

The door to the hallway was closed but Mia knew that Brian was waiting outside. Mia tried to get to the door but the woman held her tightly by the arm.

Mia kicked the nurse hard in the stomach and screamed. "Brian! Brian!"

Brian immediately came running and attempted to open the door, but it was locked.

"Mia! Mia!" Brian yelled as he punched the door with his closed fists. He finally removed his gun from his holster under his suit jacket and shot the lock on the door...destroying it.

Monica and other people from the hospital came running to see what the commotion was all about.

As Brian finally entered the exam room, he saw Mia fighting with the nurse and he quickly jumped in to help Mia.

The nurse diverted her attention to Brian and attacked him with the loaded syringe, but he was too strong for her and promptly knocked it out of her hand.

The nurse kicked Brian`s shin hard, and as he reacted from the pain she quickly ran out of the room.

Brian wanted to shoot at her retreating form but he knew that he couldn't. There were too many people in the hospital and he didn`t want anyone else to get hurt.

But Monica was on alert and ran after the woman and tackled the nurse to the floor.

"Hey, I need handcuffs here!" Monica yelled, sitting on top of the downed woman, her own legs keeping the nurse immobilized.

One of the security guards came to Monica's assistance. "What a long night!" Monica exclaimed as she efficiently handcuffed the nurse. "It never ends!"

Inside the room, Brian helped Mia sit back on the stretcher. After the confrontation with the nurse, Mia was feeling weaker and dizzier than ever.

"Are you alright, Mia?" Brian worriedly asked her.

"I...I think so." Mia weakly replied, as she let Brian hold her and lay down with her on the stretcher.

"Why did that woman attack you?" Brian pleaded with her, hoping she could give him the answer he so desperately needed.

"This is all because of Dom, Brian! "I'm sure of it!" Mia quietly said. "This crazy nurse and that man who invaded my house tonight, they were looking for Dom!"

"You're right." Brian quietly agreed. "But this has nothing to do with The FBI. Sure...they want Dom, but they wouldn't go to such extreme methods."

"I don`t know what to believe anymore, Brian! I don`t know what kind of enemies my brother could have made during the time he's been away. I just want things to be normal again...for my family…" Mia began to cry.

Brian saw the tears forming in her eyes and bent over and wrapped himself around her, hugging her tightly, comforting her.

At that exact moment, Monica walked into the room and saw the intimate moment between Brian and Mia. She cleared her throat and nervously said. "Sorry to interrupt Brian, but I need to speak to you!"

"Just give me a minute, Fuentes, ok?" Brian replied. Monica nodded and left the room muttering. "Since when did you start calling me Fuentes?"

"Who's she?" Mia curiously asked. She hadn't seen Monica, before, but she remembered that she'd been unconscious when she'd been brought to the hospital.

"She's my new partner. My boss told her to keep an eye on me and make sure that I don't screw up." Brian sheepishly explained.

"Oh, shit! She's babysitting you then?" Mia grinned. Brian just smiled as Mia held him tightly.

Brian liked this closeness with Mia very much. He'd missed Mia and he was so sorry that their romance had ended up the way it had...a tragedy!

"We need to find Dom." Mia stated. "I left him on the street this afternoon, after we came back from the morgue. He said he was going to work things out...his way."

"Sounds like Dom." Brian replied.

"I'm worried about him, Brian. My brother thinks he's invincible, but I know how vulnerable he really is, especially now that Letty's missing...maybe even dead." Mia sadly said.

"I have something to tell you." Brian said. "Something that's going to make you very happy."

"What is it?" Mia anxiosly asked.

Brian explained. "I heard before I got to your house that Maria Fernandez... the woman who traveled to The Dominican over a year ago landed this morning at LAX. Her passport was flagged and reported to the authorities but they lost track of her."

Mia smiled at Brian. She seemed very surprised and gasped. "You mean that…"

"Letty could...be alive." Brian quietly said as he returned Mia's smile.

To be continued ...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hey, guys, I want to say thank you very much for all the reviews and messages. Unfortunate my time is short to uptdates but I`ll keep going with this story until the end. I love writing this story and it is so amazing you guys are enjoying this. Reviews made my day! Feel free to PM me anytime.


	16. The Team

Chapter 16 - The Team

Vince parked the car a safe distance from the house. The place was surrounded by cops.

"Wholly shit! Vince exclaimed. "What the fuck is going on here?"

Dominic frowned. He was really worried. "Something's happened to Mia!" He growled. "I need to get in there!"

"No way man! Are you crazy? You can`t go in there!" Vince nervously said. "If the cops are here...then they'll be waiting for you and they're using Mia as bait! It's a trap to get your ass back in jail, man!"

"Maybe..." Dom quietly said. "But I need to know if Mia is ok. I should have checked on her sooner. Fuck!"

Dom threw a lethal punch at the window beside him and almost destroyed it.

"Hey man! Calm down! Don`t freak out on my car. I've spent a ton of money on this baby!" Vince whined.

"I need to get into that house!" Dom hissed.

"But how the hell do we do that with all of these fucking cops at the front door?" Vince sounded defeated.

At that moment an unmarked police car with darkly tinted windows sped past them.

The driver drove as if he was in a race and Dominic immediately knew who it was. "O `Conner!" Dom hissed under his breath.

"Brian O'Conner?" Vince replied shocked. "That little fag?"

Brian parked the car in front of The Toretto House. Monica opened her door and got out first.

"Who's that woman?" Vince asked as both he and Dom studied her intently.

"She's fucking hot!" Vince added as if his comment was of some use in this situation.

O'Conner got out of the car and then opened the back door and extended his hand to assist Mia out of the car.

After the events of the night and the confusion at the hospital Mia still felt weak and dizzy.

Brian felt that it would be safer to get Mia out of the hospital as soon as possible.

Brian thought that it would be easier to arrange surveillance and protect Mia in her own house, rather than in a very busy and very large public hospital.

Dominic noticed that Mia didn't look well. He noted that she leaned heavily on Brian as she struggled to walk, and Dom became furious.

Dom thought...what the hell did O `Conner do to his sister?

Without thinking, Dom opened the car door and was about to storm out when Vince stopped him.

"Hey Dom...you know I want to know what happened to Mia as much as you do right...but you can't show your face around here and you know it!" Vince pleaded.

"And what the hell do you expect me to do Vince?" Dominic snarled.

"You expect me to just sit here and watch my father's house be raided by the fucking cops and see my sister hurt?" Dom angrily snapped.

"No! Of course not! We're not going to just sit here on our asses, Dom." Vince explained as he tried to reassure Dom. "What I'm saying is that I'll go in there and find out what's happening."

"You?" Dom smirked as he pointed his finger at Vince. "And how you going to get past the cops, huh, smartass?"

"Dom...I'm serious, man!" Vince said looking very irritated with the obvious doubt and mistrust that Dom was showing him.

"The cops aren't looking for me, Dom. You know I got out of prison almost two years ago on good behavior. I've kept my nose clean since then, man...they got nothin' on me!" Vince proudly stated.

"But... the cops aren't stupid, they'll know that we still maintain contact with each other, so what reason could I possibly have to suddenly appear at Mia's?" Vince quietly said, more to himself than to Dom.

"Come on, Vince!" Dom skeptically replied. "Do you really think the cops won't try to interrogate you to try to figure out where the hell I am?"

"For all intents and purposes brother, we haven't seen each other in almost five years. All I know is that you fled in that car with that bastard O`Conner 5 years ago!" Vince sarcastically replied.

Dominic shook his head in doubt. "Trust me Dom, I'm gonna walk right through that front door. I'll find a way to open the window in your old room and you can sneak in through there, ok?" Vince explained grinning.

Reluctantly, Dom agreed. Vince was right. It would be stupid to have spent five years hiding from the cops only to act stupid and get caught now.

"I'll give you ten minutes." Dom warned Vince and Vince agreed. But before Vince left the car, he pulled out a small comb from the glove box and looked in the mirror and quickly fixed his hair.

"What the fuck are you doing!" Dom snapped, but Vince didn't answer. Vince just smiled. He was feeling very clever...proud of himself for devising this brilliant plan. Dom just scowled at Vince.

Vince finally got out of the car and slowly walked toward The Toretto House.

Vince picked a few daisies from the neighbor's flower bed before approaching the gate to talk to the cops. Dominic watched him from the car.

"Good evening." Vince politely said, as he fought to keep his nerves under control.

"Who are you?" One of the uniformed cops curtly asked Vince.

"I'm Vincent Tanner...you?" Vince cheekily answered.

The two policemen who were on duty at front of the house quizzically looked at each other.

"Yeah, I know you are..." Vince sarcastically said. "But what I really want to know is why you're at my girlfriends house?"

Dominic noticed that there were only two policemen at the front of the house now.

One of the patrol cars had already left the scene and Dom had noted that two men had entered the house. Two more were still in the garden and another was in the backyard.

However, the side of the house where Dom's old bedroom window was located looked seemingly unprotected.

Dom wasn't surprised as the window was extremely high and looked impossible to get to...but Dom was experienced at making that precarious climb. He'd done it a million times before in his youth.

Dom had hoped to try and prayed that Vince's plan would work.

"Yeah, Mia Toretto...she's my girlfriend!" Vince insisted. "Is she ok? Why are you here? Can you please let me pass so that I can see her?"

"Sorry Mr. Tanner, but we have strict orders...nobody is allowed to enter this house or see Miss Toretto. These orders come directly from Special Agent O'Connor...who's in with her now.

Dominic shook his head in doubt. "O`Conner? Brian O'Connor...I know him." Vince calmly stated.

Monica suddenly appeared at the door and asked. "Is there a problem guys?"

"This man says that he's Miss Toretto's boyfriend and he wants to see her." One of the officers explained.

Monica studied Vince's face and had the odd sensation of having seen him somewhere before.

"This is absurd!" Vince stammered. "You can't stop me from seeing my girl!"

"Your girl?" Monica replied with amusement. This guy seemed more confused ...even entertaining, more than threatening...but Monica knew that she still had to be cautious because there was always the possibility that she was wrong.

"Forgive me, but you don't seem to be the type of man that Miss Toretto would date." Monica questioned.

"Why not ask her then?" Vince snapped, starting to get nervous.

"What's your name?" Monica asked.

"Vince." Vince tersely replied.

"Wait out here." Monica ordered and quickly returned inside the house. Vince silently stood there and glared at the two officers as he nervously shuffled his feet from side to side.

Mia was sitting on the couch with an ice pack on her head and Brian was sitting very close beside her.

Monica thought that Brian seemed a bit too concerned about Mia and also noticed that he sat a little too close to her.

"Mia?" Monica called to her and Mia slowly lifted her head to look at her.

"Yes?" Monica noticed that Mia had a pained look in her expression when she spoke.

"Do you know that there's a guy outside holding a bouquet of flowers claiming to be your boyfriend." Monica cautiously asked Mia.

"What?" Mia replied astonished.

"That's exactly what I said and ah ... his name is Vince?" Monica added with suspicion.

"Vince is here?" Mia exchanged a worried look with Brian.

"So he is your boyfriend then?" Monica questioned Mia, but Mia didn't reply. Instead she turned to face Brian and whispered. "Brian...if Vince is here then something must have happened to Dom!"

Brian nodded in agreement and without turning his gaze away from Mia said:

"Monica, we know Vince...please let him in."

"Ah, interesting...so you know this Vince, too then, huh?" Monica skeptically quizzed Brian.

"Mia, will you excuse me for a minute?" Brian rose from the couch, and pulled Monica into the kitchen and said. "Look Monica, I know that The Boss put you on this case so that you could keep an eye me, but I'm asking you to please keep your mouth shut."

"What do you mean?" Monica said as she crossed her arms over her chest in a gesture of defiance.

"We're on the same side no matter what!" Brian started to explain but Monica shook her head and interrupted him.

"Brian, alot has happened since we split up. I'm here to get the bad guys and put them in jail. That's it! Alot of people have died, how many more need to die so before you understand that? You and your little gang aren't important in the big picture!" Monica explained.

"Funny Monica...you said that to me...once before...Florida...that you could fall in love with Verone." Brian taunted.

Monica pushed her shoulders back angrily and threatened. "Careful what you say, Brian!"

Brian didn't care about Monica's little outburst and calmly stated. "I'm trusting in you Monica...I'm going out there right now and bringing Vince in here...and you're going to pretend that you didn't see or hear anything... understand?"

Monica glared at him, but said nothing. Brian went to the doorway and motioned for Vince to come in.

Vince grinned at him, but once he entered the house he quickly closed his fist and threw a punch directly at Brian face.

Brian was quick and ducked out of the way. The punch missed his face but the blow still struck him hard on the shoulder.

"Vince! Stop it!" Mia screamed and dropped the bag of ice on the floor in an attempt to separate the two men.

"What did you do to her, huh? Tell me you fucking b*stars!" Vince demanded.

"I didn't do anything to Mia!" Brian screamed as he tried to defend himself.

One of the policemen who had been guarding the house suddenly burst into the room with his gun drawn.

Monica gestured to show him that everything was ok. She was also holding her own gun at the ready but quickly reholstered it to prove to the officer that everything was really ok.

The officer followed Monica's lead and put his own gun back in its holster but still pushed Mia and Vince away from Brian.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Vince!" Mia angrily asked him.

"He's still groaning like a damn cop..." Vince said and then sarcastically added. "Oh, yes, but he's still a cop, right? I'd forgotten."

"I think you have a very short memory, Vince...Brian saved your life!" Mia spoke with an air of disapproval.

"Oh, really..." Vince said. "I'd forgotten to thank you!" The tone of his voice was still icy sarcasm, but Brian didn't care.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Mia asked him but Vince looked suspiciously over at Monica.

"It's okay... we can trust her." Brian reassured Vince and then looked over at Monica himself, as if waiting for confirmation from her.

Monica quietly nodded in agreement. Vince studied her, still very suspicious, silently trying to decide at that moment what to do about Dom and that damn bedroom window.

Vince couldn't waste any more time if he wanted to avoid his friend getting caught by the cops.

"You alright, Mia?" Vince quietly asked her.

"Yes, I'm fine." Mia softly replied staring into his eyes, silently questioning him about Dom.

Vince immediately understood that she was really silently pleading for an answer. "Do you know anything about my brother?"

Vince finally replied out loud. "He's ok. He's fine. No need to worry. He's been looking for you."

"Oh, God!" Mia exclaimed, relieved. "I'll kill him when I see him! He's made me worry so much about him."

"Are they perchance talking about one Dominic Toretto?" Monica dared to ask.

Mia frowned and asked Brian. "Are you sure we can trust her?"

"I think you better tell me soon if we really can or not... because in the next few minutes Dom is going to try to get into this house...through his old bedroom window, while I distract Dumb and Dumber out there." Vince quickly explained referring to the cops outside.

At that exact moment they heard the sound of breaking glass coming from upstairs. Mia bolted from the couch and immediately ran upstairs towards the noise, followed quickly by Vince.

"Tell the guys out front that everything is ok in here!" Brian ordered Monica before following Mia and Vince into Dom's old room.

Monica sighed and said. "My God, what have I gotten myself into!"

Upstairs, Mia had met Dom just as he was climbing through the window. He'd broken the glass with his right fist and his hand was bleeding.

"Dom!" She worriedly gasped as she hugged her brother and added. "How could you leave me so worried?"

Brian tried to close the shutter of the broken window to avoid more suspicion from the cops outside monitoring the house.

Brian ironically thought, that Vince was right, they were lucky that the police who were guarding the house seemed like incompetant idiots.

"What the hell happened to you!" Dom worriedly asked. "I called the house and got no answer... same with your cell phone...and now I come here and see that the fucking cops have surrounded the place!"

"The cops know now that you're here now, Dom!" Vince said, panicking. "We gotta get out of here!"

"It's not just the police who are after you Dom." Mia said and added. "A man broke into our house and attacked me tonight. When Brian took me to the hospital a woman dressed as a nurse tried to kill me...that's why the police are here!"

"What!" Dom replied, stunned with Mia's news.

"We caught the fake nurse and one of the guys who raided your house tonight. They're being questioned by The FBI." Brian explained.

"Dom, please let me take care of your hand, you're bleeding." Mia worriedly pleaded.

"You're right, Mia, about someone else being after me." Dom said as he seemed to ignore her concerns, as per usual.

"I have something to show you." Dom said and as he opened his old bedroom closet door. Dom carefully removed a package from inside and gave it to Mia.

"What's this?" Mia asked intrigued.

"Someone sent this package to me when I was hiding in Panama." Dom replied.

"That's where you 've been all this time?" Brian asked.

"I stayed there for some time." Dom quietly replied.

Mia opened the package and discovered the teddy bear that she'd given Letty almost one year ago, when Letty had discovered that she was pregnant.

"Oh My God!" Mia gasped in shock as she held the tiny bear in her hands. "I gave this to her... just before she left!" Mia whispered.

"You?" Dom exclaimed in surprise.

"I bought it for Letty when she told me that she was pregnant. I was so happy because I'd have a niece or nephew ... Dom, how did you get this? What happened to Letty?"

Dom exchanged a knowing look with Vince. He wanted to tell Mia everything but he decided to continue the mystery for several more minutes.

First, Dom showed Mia the note that had been delivered with the teddy bear.

"Come back to Los Angeles. I'd like to discuss issues that are of interest to both of us. You won't regret coming back. Braga." Mia read aloud.

"Damnit, Dom!" Brian exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me this before? If Braga was after Letty and he was able to contact you...lure you back to L.A. using an object that belonged to her, that means ..."

"That means...he knows about Letty...where...she is..." Mia concluded in a tearful voice. "...and the baby...?"

Vince threw a distressed look at Mia and then to the gift that she held in her hands.

A tear finally rolled down Mia's cheek when she quietly said. "Brian... the body at the morgue doesn't belong to Letty, but that letter...the bear..."

"Yeah Dom, the body isn't Letty." Brian confirmed and then began to add. "The autopsy report came out a few hours ago..."

Dom shook his head and grinned when Brian started to explain. "Mia...I found Letty!"

Mia almost collapsed to the floor because of Dom's powerful news...it was all so sudden and yet so wonderful all at the same time.

"What! Dom, where is she? Where is Letty?" Mia managed to mutter, tears falling freely down her cheeks now, but this time they were tears of joy.

"She's at my house." Vince excitedly answered, wanting to join in the conversation.

Brian smiled but remained quiet as he allowed them to celebrate the news amongst themselves... the team!

Brian wondered if he ever belonged to the team... or was his presence there just a mistake?

"I can't believe it!" Mia cried, hugging Dom. "Is she okay? Dom... please tell me!"

"Yeah , baby sister...she's just fine. She's great! So beautiful ..." Dom reassured her and hugged her tightly.

"And... the... ba...?" Mia was afraid to ask but Vince quickly interrupted her. "The baby? Ah, you gotta meet her, Mia... that girl is so grumpy like her mother!"

"Girl... ?" Mia questioned with joyful surprise.

"I have a daughter, Mia..." Dom proudly said with a huge grin on his face. "It's time for me to slow down, Little Sis."

"Oh, my God! I'm so happy!" Mia almost screamed the words, embracing Dom again. Vince joined them in a hug fest as Brian quietly moved away, leaving them alone to enjoy the moment.

Brian met Monica in the hallway. Monica immediately noticed the happy expression on his face and asked. "Why are you smiling? You know our situation with the FBI will quickly go from bad to worse if they discover that we're conceiling a known fugitive!"

Brian ignored Monica's obvious statement and simply replied. " Letty."

"What?" Monica asked confused.

"They found Letty... Dom found Letty." Brian repeated with a big grin on his face.

"Leticia Ortiz? The missing girl?" Monica gasped, seemingly surprised.

Brian smiled again and was shocked with an unexpected hug. "What an amazing relief!" Monica gushed, smiling too.

"Everything's going to be ok Monica, everything's going to be just fine!" Brian whispered in her ear...but he was really saying the words to himself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Letty suddenly woke up startled. She'd just had the same vivid nightmare again, where Fenix was chasing her... and in her dreams he always managed to catch her.

In her nightmare, Letty's car was overturned and Fenix slowly appears before her, gun drawn. He fires at her head, showing no mercy as her blood spills onto the highway.

Realizing she'd had another nightmare, Letty slowly took in a deep breath and blinked her eyes numerous times in an attempt to wakeup and calm the frantic beating of her heart.

"Calm down girl... it's okay, you're safe!" Letty told herself, as she heard a small whimper in the bed beside her.

Letty smiled. This was her reality... her wonderful reality... her little girl...her Caterina!

Ever since she'd been born, Letty's life had gained new meaning. So she knew that she needed to stay alive and well, because of Nina.

"Shiiii ...Mommy's here ... my little sleepy cookie ..." Letty whispered as she gingerly picked up her precious little girl and cradled her in her arms.

Once Nina had calmed down again, she quickly fell asleep and Letty slowly got out of bed. Light began to peek through a crack in the window. The day was already dawning.

Letty delicately placed pillows protectivly around Nina so that she could not roll and fall off the bed.

Letty then realized that she heard several voices coming from the kitchen. Everyone seemed to be talking all at once.

Amongst the many voices, Letty immediately recognized one...a female voice that she knew so well. "Mia!" Letty happily whispered.

"Where is she?" Letty heard Mia anxiously ask Leon. Letty was excited to be reunited with Mia and quickly headed towards Mia's voice.

"I think she's still sleeping." Letty heard Leon say as she burst into the kitchen.

Mia couldn't contain her smile of happiness to see Letty and emotionally gasped. "Letty!"

"Hey, girl...how you livin'!" Letty grinned as she fiercely hugged Mia.

To be continued…


	17. Family Meeting

_Chapter 17- Family Meeting_

"_Oh, My God!_ _I missed you so much_!" Mia cried as she squeezed Letty tightly in her arms. "You disappeared on me, woman! You promised me you'd send news you were ok last time we talked…. and you never did!"

"Please…forgive me, Mia." Letty sadly said. "But it just wasn't safe to contact you…any of you!" Letty added looking somberly over at Brian.

"You don`t know how relieved I am to see that you're ok, Letty." Brian quietly said to her. "I`ve been looking for you for a very long time. I actually….I thought that maybe the worst had happened." Brian sheepishly looked down at his feet.

"I guess I owe everyone an apology..." Letty replied but then she icily glared over at Dom and added. "Well… maybe not _everyone_!"

"Oh _sh*t_, Dom! That's gotta hurt!" Leon jokingly said.

Dom felt very uncomfortable…and extremely guilty at hearing Letty's words, but he remained silent. Knowing Letty like he did…he knew it would take her a very long time to forgive him…and possibly allow him to get close to her again.

"Let`s forget about that for now, Letty." Mia excitedly said trying to be the practical one, as always. "The most important thing is that you're back. I`m so happy to see you!"

"Me, too." Letty replied as she held on tightly to Mia's hands. Mia sighed and finally burst with anticipation. "_Ok!_ I can`t stand it any longer! _Tell me!_ Before I die of curiousity…Letty…where's my niece? Dom didn't tell me much about her."

"I just preferred that you see her with your own eyes…see out how perfect she really is." Dom replied with a big goofy grin on his face.

Letty smiled and took Mia by the hand and led her towards Vince`s room, where Nina was sleeping. Mia was giddy with excitement and was so looking forward to meeting her little niece for the first time.

"She's sleeping." Letty quietly told her as they both entered the room. Dom followed closely behind them. He wanted to see his sister`s reaction when she met his daughter for the very first time.

"Auntie Mia…" Letty grinned and whispered in a sweet voice. "This is Nina…your niece."

"_Oh, my goodness!"_ Mia gushed and put her hands up to her mouth. She'd already fallen in love with this baby. Mia slowly moved closer to the bed to see her niece more clearly.

Nina was covered with a blanket and was sleeping peacefully. One of her little hands was resting on her chin. Her cheeks were moving very softly because she was sucking on her pacifier. She was the most beautiful thing Mia had ever seen.

"She's so beautiful…simply perfect…Dio mio!" (Oh, my God!). Mia whispered with tears filling her eyes.

Letty sat on the bed beside the baby and asked Mia. "Would you like to hold her, Mia?" "Can I?" Mia excitedly asked. "Of course you can, silly!" Letty giggled.

"But I don`t want to wake her up..." Mia nervously replied. "You're not going to wake her up…I promise…don`t worry, Mi..."

"I think you gotta be careful, Mia." Vince abruptly announced as he stood near the bedroom door. "It ain't going be fun if she wakes up and starts screamin' again…"

"_Shut up, V!"_ Letty chuckled before she gently picked Nina up in her arms. "I`m just sayin'…" Vince nervously added.

Mia sat close to Letty on the bed and Letty slowly handed the baby to her. Once Mia gingerly arranged the tiny baby in her arms she sighed and began to gently rock the little girl. Nina made a sweet little noise but her eyes remained closed.

"She's so darn _cute_!" Mia gushed. Her heart was already melting for this baby. "Auntie Mia is going to spoil you so much!"

"Not if I can help it!" Dom laughed.

After a few minutes of silence and adoration of tiny Nina, Mia finally asked. "Letty…why did you hide her from us for so long?"

"Forgive me, Mia, but it was the only way that I knew I could protect her." Letty quietly said.

Letty`s words really upset Dom…they really hurt him. He felt devastated for not being able to be with his girls when they needed him the most.

But now…

….Dom vowed that things would be different. He had plans and he was going talk to Letty about them at the first possible opportunity.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was extremely late, so everyone stayed over at Vince`s place…including Brian. They needed to talk about everything that was happening and about their plans for the future.

Letty had informed Dom that she didn`t want to live life as a fugitive anymore…for the sake of baby Nina. Letty also told him that she'd returned to L.A. with the intentions of living a decent and honest life. She wanted to raise her child the best possible way she could.

However, Dom also knew that because Letty`s life was in danger because of Braga, that a safe, fresh start would be extremely difficult for her to do. Dominic also knew that he, too, was in serious trouble…with the law. It would be virtually impossible for them both to start over in L.A.

Dom knew that there were multiple charges against him from the authorities, and that his time in the U.S.A. should be limited if he wanted to remain a free man. But what would he do if Letty wasn't planning on leaving with him?

Dom really needed to talk to Letty…and soon…but he decided to wait until after lunch. Mia was so excited about meeting her niece for the first time, and also excited about the fact that the team was reunited again, that she got a bit carried away.

Mia had convinced everyone that they should stay and have a barbecue in Vince`s backyard…just like the good old days. Dom realized that he needed to wait a bit longer to approach Letty.

Obviously, Mia wasn't thinking clearly…especially after what had happened the previous night. Mia just wanted to celebrate life with the people that she loved like family, and forget about all their problems…at least for one day.

Brian had contacted Monica via phone. He'd told her that he had something important to tell her later. Monica told him. "I don`t know Brian, I don't think the boss would like knowing that you're involved with Toretto and his gang again."

"Relax, Monica. It's all good!" Brian snapped. "Well…last time you told me that _Hotshot_, I remember I didn't like it much." Monica teased him. "_Shut up_!" Brian grinned.

"Don't let that a pair of tight jeans fool you, _Hollywood_!" Monica continued to tease him. "If you're talking about Mia…" Brian started.

"No man! I`m talking about Dom!" Monica added giggling. Brian scowled and hung up on her…but then he began to laugh. He knew that he could trust Monica. Although their romantic relationship didn't work out in the past, they were still remained good friends.

Mia passed Brian in the hallway at that very moment. She was carrying two large pans containing chicken, hamburgers and sausages.

"Do you need a hand?" Brian anxiously asked Mia. "Since when did anyone around here ever offer to help?" Mia joked.

Brian smiled and quickly took the heaviest looking pan from her arms. "Thank you." Mia nervously said.

"How are you feeling?" Brian asked, gesturing to her head. "Oh…I`m fine, thanks." Mia quickly replied as she lightly touched her head with her free hand. "Apparently, it takes more than a spanking to knock me down." Brian laughed.

"I`m happy Brian. I`m happy for the first time in a very long time since that terrible day when you all left me behind…and I have a good feeling about seeing everyone here together today… after such a long time!" Mia explained, smiling.

Mia paused in front of the kitchen door. Brian stopped too, and he turned to face her. He finally asked. "Are you happy to see me again after such a long time?"

Mia gripped the pan tighter and then stammered. "Brian…I…" Suddenly a voice called out her name. "_Mia!_ _The grill is ready!"_

Leon suddenly pushed the kitchen door open with such gusto that he almost knocked Mia down onto the floor. It took Mia a great effort to maintain her balance and keep from falling over or dropping the heavy pan of food onto the floor.

Leon suddenly looked embarrassed as he'd realized he'd interrupted something. "My mistake…I`m so sorry…"

"Leon, could you help me please?" Mia nervously asked as she handed the heavy pan over to him before opening the door again, so they all could go to the backyard.

Brian sighed. He was annoyed at the interruption and the chance to talk to Mia alone. Whatever Mia was about to tell him would have to wait, and he knew it.

Brian knew Mia well enough to know that he'd just lost his chance…it would be up to Mia now to decide whether or not she wanted to talk him again…and he'd be lucky if she was still going say anything.

Outside Dom was talking to Vince and drinking a beer. But in actual fact, it was Vince who was doing most of the talking. Dominic was answering him with one word syllables or grunts and groans because his attention was focused almost entirely on Letty.

Letty was walking in the grass and talking softly to their daughter in her arms. The baby was smiling sweetly up at her mommy. Letty was dressed like always in jeans and boots but Dom could sense something different about her.

Letty seemed tough as always but there was also something new about her….something softer. She was so damn sweet and tender and such a great mother…so natural. This was a side of Letty that he'd never witnessed before and he discovered that he was enjoying this new Letty very much.

"Hey, Dom! You listening to me, Man?" Vince asked annoyed. He realized that Dom wasn`t paying attention to him. "Yeah, I`m listening!" Dom mumbled.

"Ok, so do you agree with me that that pr*ck is trying to get into Mia`s pants again?" Vince asked.

Dom took a lazy sip of his beer and looked over at Brian who was helping Mia with the barbecue. Dom realized that Vince was right. Both Mia and Brian seemed connected again somehow but he didn't care, not really. Brian O`Conner had became a constant in their lives and maybe it was about time that he accept this fact.

"They're grownups, Vince. Let them do whatever the hell they want!" Dom snapped.

"Dom, I don`t believe you Man!" Vince complained. "What happened to "_nobody messes with my sister"?"_

"She's spent a long, long time taking care of herself and she's done a great job, Vince. It's about time for me to stop worrying." Dom quietly replied.

Dom took one last swig of his beer and handed the empty bottle over to Vince and then he promptly walked towards Letty. Vince remained still and simply watched his friend walk away from him. Then Vince looked over at Brian and Mia and cursed as Brian tenderly touched Mia's arm. "_Son of a b*tch_!"

Letty noticed Dom approach her but she didn`t move and continued to talk to Nina. Leon turned on the stereo he'd just brought from out of the house.

"Seems like old times, don`t you think?" Dom cautiously asked Letty.

"Yep." Letty curtly replied as she raised Nina carefully and placed the baby`s tiny little head on her shoulder and began rubbing her back.

"You're doing great with her." Dom proudly said. "I wish I knew how to take care of babies."

"You just need some practice, Man." Letty quickly replied. There was an awkward silence and then Letty looked at the bandage on Dom's arm and said. "It looks bad." Dom said. "Nah…it`s ok. Mia didn`t need many stiches."

Leon changed the music to a slow song that Dom and Letty used to listen a lot to in past. Dom and Letty both knew where that song always used to take them and they both stared intently at each other.

Suddenly, Mia interrupted the moment as she approached them and announced. "Alright you two, lunch is almost ready. Brian and Leon are finishing barbecuing while Vince tests their patience. That way I can take care of my beautiful niece for a little bit."

"You don`t have to worry, Mia." Letty said. "Oh, but I want to spoil this little cutie." Mia insisted and carefully took baby Nina from her mother's arms. The baby whimpered a bit but Mia cuddled with her and the little girl soon was quiet again.

"If you two will excuse me, Auntie Mia is going to take her beautiful niece for a little walk." Mia proudly announced and promptly walked away with a big grin on her face.

Dom looked down at Letty and smirked and said. "This sounds like a conspiracy, don`t you think?" "Yeah, and you know what?" Letty smiled and said. "I was kind of expecting something like this."

The slow song continued to play very softly on the stereo close to them. "_Que solo por um be__so se puede enamorar. Sin necesidad de hablarse, solo los lábios rosarse, cupido los flechará." _(With just a kiss you can fall in love. You don`t need to talk. If your lips come closer, then cupid will get you).

"This is our song." Letty quietly said. "Do you wanna dance?" Dom nervously asked Letty.

Letty hesitated for a few seconds and Dom felt anxious but then she finally smiled up at him and allowed Dom to pull her close. Dom kissed the top of her head. He adored being so close to her again.

Dominic had never been a fan of Mia`s crazy plans in the past to make him and Let get back together after a fight, but this time he was going to remind himself to thank her.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Leon asked Mia as they watched Dom and Letty dance. Mia remained quiet and Leon sarcastically added. "Well…we'll know soon enough if Letty decides to send us all to hell… because we're trying to help them get back together!"

"No, she's not going to do this." Mia quietly said as she gently rocked Nina in her arms. "She's just playing the tough girl as usual. Now let`s go inside and give them some much needed privacy." Mia called out for Brian and Vince to join them with an excuse that she needed their help in the kitchen.

Letty allowed Dom to lead her slowly around the small yard. She'd forgotten at that moment about all the pain that Dom's absence had caused her during the last year.

Letty allowed herself to cherish a moment like this again, to dance in close in Dom`s arms to the rhythm of the song that belonged to them…the song that brought them both such sweet memories.

_**Dominican Republic**__**. 5 years earlier.**_

"Do you feel that?" Letty asked Dom as she lay on his body and kissed him.

They were lying in a canoe on the water at a secluded beach. They'd been making up for lost time together after weeks of being apart since they'd left The States.

"How could you be 3,000 miles away from me?" Letty whispered. Dom's hands lightly touched her hair then slowly moved to her shoulders and then down her back in a very delicate movement.

"Sometimes I think about the time we didn`t need to run." Dom quietly said. "Me, too." Letty agreed as she slowly nibbled on his chin.

"I`m talking about a long time ago…before the robberies….when my father was alive and I could race professionally." Dom said.

"You were the best driver, Dom." Letty said as she laid her head on his chest. "I used to vibrate watching you race…you made my blood boil."

"And I was crazy to get across that finish line because I knew I was going to get a kiss from you! You were the best trophy I could ever want." Dom growled.

"_Sure!_" Letty sarcastically said. "The prize money had nothing to do with it!" Dom laughed and his chest shuddered with the sound of his laugher and he added. "Yeah, right! The money was good, too!"

"So are you the kind of man that prefers money and cars to women?" Letty provoked him as she tenderly kissed his neck and firmly placed both of her hands flat on his chest.

"No, I prefer women." Dom said with a mischievous smile as he firmly moved his big hands down Letty's back towards her butt and then he squeezed. He loved to touch her curves…all of them. "And by the way…not just any _woman_." He added. "I prefer _you_ and only _you!_"

Letty moaned softly as she lightly moved the tips of her fingers along Dom's hard muscles. "I love you, _Papi_." She whispered before she licked his lips with the tip of her tongue.

"I love you, _Mami_." Dom whispered before pulling her by the nape of her neck and kissing her wildly, sucking on her lips and pulling her tongue inside of his mouth. Letty pressed her body against his and felt him hard against her tummy.

Letty smiled and slowly rubbed against him. Dom let out a moan of pleasure. Letty loved to know that she was _always in control of Dominic Toretto. _She loved to see him lose himself during their intimate moments.

"Y tu que quieres, chica?"( What do you want, Girl?) Dom asked Letty in Spanish as he caressed her face with his.

"Quiero hacerte loco." (I want to drive you crazy) Letty seductively purred as she sat on Dom's hips.

Dom allowed his hands to roam over Letty's body before slowly placing one of them inside of her white short shorts. His heart skipped a beat at the feel her soft, wet skin against his. The bikini bottoms that she was wearing under her shorts were so tiny that it wasn't hard for Dom to find the spot that he wanted to touch the most.

"_Ay, mi A__mor!" _(Oh, Baby!) Letty moaned as she moved her hips against Dom's.

Dom looked from side to side. Their little boat was bouncing uncontrollably on the water, and if they weren't careful they might fall into the water again.

Dom looked at her again and kissed her lips before seductively saying. "We need to find a less precarious position to make love. What do you say,_ Mami_?"

Letty smiled maliciously and asked. "Are you sure this is a private beach?"

"This beach is ours!" Dom confidently said. "There's not a soul around here for miles and miles."

"I hope you're right Dom, because if you're not…" Letty raised herself up and sat on Dom's hips again and quickly removed her bikini top. "…we're about to give a private show to someone that could be watching…"

Dominic laughed as he watched Letty remove her bikini top and tie it to the inside of the boat so it wouldn't fall into the water. Dom brought his hands up to caress her breasts and he gently played with her erect nipples.

Letty moved her body down onto Dom's again and he took this opportunity to gently caress her nipple with his tongue. Dom took his time and continued to suck and kiss her nipples and he smiled as he tasted the salt from the sea on her skin.

Letty raised herself again and quickly removed her shorts and bikini bottoms. The canoe bounced haphazardly again and both laughed. "Be careful mermaid…you're about to cause a shipwreck!"

"Are you afraid, _Papi_?" Letty purred. "No, yo no lo tengo miedo porque yo estoy enamorado. (No, I`m not afraid because I`m in love). Dom answered very relaxed with his arms under his head watching Letty undress for him.

Letty placed all of her clothes safely together and then she sat on Dom`s body again. This time she dropped her body backwards and opened her legs for him. He was so close she could feel his breath on her.

Dominic took a deep breath. He was enchanted by Letty's naked body completely exposed for him. He marveled at her tanned skin, still damp from swimming in the sea and glistening in the sun.

Dom didn't hesitate to taste her. He was addicted to her taste. Letty moaned his name and whispered words of love.

"I want you, _Bella Mia_…" Dom moaned. His breath was heavy and he was feeling so excited at the taste of her essence.

Soon Letty was back sitting on Dom's hips and she lowered her head and slid her lips and tongue along Dom`s tanned skin. His skin tasted salty. One of Dom's hands slowly moved to touch Letty between her legs.

Letty wanted to do the same…to touch him there, and she anxiously lowered his shorts so that she could place her hands where she needed them to be. He was hot and wet like her, but also hard and ready to love her.

Letty played with the softness of his masculinity and caressed him the way she knew that he loved, in constant movements that moved fast and slow with increasing intensity.

When Dom finally placed himself inside of her, they both moaned with anticipation and pleasure. Dom was in heaven as he watched Letty slowly dance on his hips, naked and beautiful….and his.

Their bodies remained deeply connected while the waves bounced the canoe on the sea and intensified their pleasure. Night was quickly approaching and stars were bright in the darkening sky.

Letty was right. How he could stay 3,000 miles away from her?

_**Present T**__**ime**_

"_Um beso significa amistad sexo y amor, em cualquier parte del mundo, no importa la religión, por un beso de su boca voy al cielo y hablo con Dios, alcanso las estrellas de emoción..." _(A kiss means friendship, sex and love in any part of the world, it doesn`t matter the religion, for one kiss from your lips I would go to the sky to talk to God, I will reach he stars of emotion).

Dom and Letty were so close now. They were both overwhelmed by the emotions that the song brought out in them and by the memories of the greatest love that they had shared what seemed like so long ago.

Their lips moved closer without Dom or Letty even consciously realizing. They could only hear their own anxious breathing. Dom held Letty's waist to keep her firmly pinned to his body.

"_Only __with a kiss could I fall in love_…" Dom was lost in his thoughts as the lyrics of their song continued to play in his mind. There was no greater emotion for him than to kiss the lips of the woman he loved.

Letty closed her eyes. She was ready to allow Dom to kiss her, however Nina`s loud cry interrupted what it could have been the kiss of their life, at least for Dom who was crazy to have Letty in his arms again.

"Nina's crying." Letty gasped as she suddenly stepped back.

"Mia has her!" Dom said in a vain attempt to keep Letty close to him.

"I know, but it`s better if I go check on her. I'm sorry!" Letty nervously said and then she abruptly left him standing there as she hurried to be with Nina.

Dominic was frustrated. Their song was over and another one had begun…a crazy Merengue. Vince came and stood next to him. He was holding another beer that he just had retrieved from the fridge.

"I`m sorry, Brother." Vince solemnly said to his friend. "She's a tough cookie, but you'll get there!" Vince tried to reassure him as he smacked Dom on his shoulder.

"_F*ck! Give me that beer_!" Dom snapped as he snatched the beer from Vince`s hand and took a big swig.

"_What?_ That`s my beer! You do know that, right?" Vince whined as he followed Dom to the barbecue grill.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was the first full day off for Carlos Ortiz in several grueling months. His garage was a major success in the neighborhood and he never seemed to have time to rest.

However the physical and mental exhaustion had caught up to him and kept him at home that day. Amalia was in the kitchen preparing supper for them both.

Carlos decided to have a beer and watch some TV and try to relax but the noise of the doorbell interrupted him. "Could you answer the door, _Cariño_?" Carlos called to his wife because he was too exhausted to move.

"I`m busy, Mi Amor. Could you answer it, please?" Amalia shouted from the kitchen. Carlos cursed but he got up from the couch to answer the door, still holding his corona beer.

"Good morning, Sir." A young man said as Carlos opened the door. He was wearing a suit and holding a clipboard and an envelope. "Good morning." Carlos replied.

"I work for The Justice Department." The man explained. "I've came to deliver a letter to Mr. Carlos Antunes Ortiz."

"That`s me. What's this all about?" Carlos impatiently asked.

"I don`t know, Sir. I just deliver the documents." The man said and Carlos quietly nodded and again acknowledged that he was Carlos Ortiz.

The man handed Carlos a brown envelope with The Department of Federal Justice stamped across the front of it. "Could you sign here please, Sir?"

"Yeah, sure." Carlos nervously replied. He had a very bad feeling about that envelope.

"If you choose, you can appeal the Court of Law decision within seven days." The man informed Carlos and then turned to walk away. "Have a nice day, Mr. Ortiz."

Carlos stood silent for a moment and then closed the door. Amalia appeared from the kitchen drying her wet hands on the apron tied to her waist. "Who was it, Carlos?" She asked.

"Someone from The Department of Justice. He brought me this…." Carlos showed her the envelope before he began to tear it open.

"What's this about?" Amalia curiously asked as she moved closer to him to see for herself. Carlos began to read the letter aloud to her.

"Dear Mr. Carlo s Antunes Ortiz, The Department of Justice is advising you of case 967-45/8, regarding the disappearance of your niece Leticia Cristina Ortiz. Included in this letter is the detailed report of The Federal Investigation. This case number is now closed, but you have seven days to re-open this case, should you choose, in The Federal Court. The State of California grants you this right as you are the only known surviving relative of the victim….."

Amalia listened to those words with tears in her eyes. Her hands suddenly began to tremble.

Carlos gasped. "Amalia, what the hell does this mean? Is Letty missing….?"

_**To be continued…**_


End file.
